Sakura Graffiti
by yoakeyiguri
Summary: "It was supposed to remain a secret, chained deep underground… but now it's dancing naked for all to see." Rumors spread like wildfire as Ranma's secret – who he really loves – leaks out. The problem? Who he loves isn't on the list of options. YAOI, DISCONTINUED
1. Frozen

_Sakura Park, Nerima, Tokyo_

Sakura Park is one of the most popular date spots in Nerima, especially in the springtime. The entire place consisted of nothing but cherry blossom trees and clear ponds. Very romantic. Usually, couples would wander around, climb trees, throw fallen blossoms at each other, hold hands and kiss, but today, there was a couple that seemed determined to buck the trend.

Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome were the couple this lovely evening, though with all the screaming it could hardly be called lovely. The two had been engaged by parental arrangement; both fathers determined that they would eventually fall in love and get married. That was almost six months ago, and frankly, things weren't looking so great for the odd trio hiding behind a particularly old and thick cherry tree.

Soun, Genma, and Nodoka were hiding by their children's date spot. The date, in question, had been forced upon the two martial artists in hope that this romantic place would awaken the love in their hearts, and Ranma would finally propose to Akane. This was just one of many desperate tactics used by the three, and honestly, they were almost ready to go off to China and buy a love potion for the both of them.

"… You dumb tomboy! Can't you be cute for one millisecond?" snarled Ranma, his annoyance at his idiotic parents building up to a dangerous point. Of course they would decide that he should be engaged to the manliest girl in all Japan.

"At least I'm a full girl! You have no right to insult me, you… you… gynandromorph!" Akane threw back, equally annoyed.

"Bah! I'm better built then you, and I'm half guy!" This sent Akane over the edge. Screaming like a demon, she hurled her fiancée into one of the crystalline ponds, causing the water to shatter as though it were a mirror. Half a second later, a female and very mad Ranma came spluttering up to the surface. "What'd you do that for?" yelped Ranma, shivering as the cold evening air hit her wet skin. The two picked up right where they left off, yelling at each other, causing the few remaining couples to scurry away in fright.

"Maybe we should just give up," sighed Nodoka, her curly brown hair filled with pink and white flowers. Genma was appalled.

"Give up? After we're so close? Nodoka, I have never known you to be a quitter. Don't give up now."

"You call that close?" Nodoka asked testily, pointing to the bickering children. Genma shrugged.

"Well, they're still fighting, but surely they must have developed some feelings for each other… Maybe…."

"Shh!" hissed Soun, joining the conversation, "we have to keep quiet. Otherwise they might hear us! And that would ruin everything!"

"Yes, dad," snapped a familiar voice from behind, causing the adults hearts to skip a beat, "that would be rather bad, now wouldn't it?" The trio turned to see Ranma and Akane standing behind them, arms crossed and eyes flashing dangerously.

"Err…" began Genma, but he never finished what he was going to say. Ranma curled her delicate fingers into a fist, and rammed them home in Genma's gut. "What's the matter, Pops?" snarled Ranma, "Too tired from spying on us to fight back?"

"We were just worried about you," stammered Nodoka, standing quickly. She knew Ranma would never hit her, and neither would Akane, but if Genma decided to fight, things could get ugly. "I mean, you two fight so much… we worry that you might hurt each other. I mean, you still are at an unstable age, so to speak…" Soun quickly followed Nodoka on her retreat. Genma would have fled too, but he was too busy being beat up by his son… err, daughter.

"I can't believe you guys!" snapped Akane. She would never hurt her dad or Mrs. Saotome, but that didn't mean she was above getting mad at the two. "I thought you would have realized by now Ranma and I don't love each other!"

"We were never in love!" said Ranma from the middle of what had become an all-out brawl between daughter and father, "Why can't you guys just accept that and move on?"

Little did they know there was someone else watching, a wide grin plastering her wrinkled face.

_Cat Café, Nerima, Tokyo_

The night air blew gently through the open door of the café, whipping through the curtains. Usually, the café would be closed at this hour, but Cologne and Shampoo were making a special exception tonight. This night could be the key to their success. Of course, this notion was riding on the hope that they had enough money for the enormous secret that they were hoping to weasel out of their guest tonight.

The noise of Nabiki sipping her free ramen was deafening in the confined space. Everyone, even Mousse, was gathered around the middle Tendo child, watching her every move. Nabiki wasn't particularly disturbed. She was used to impatient customers staring at her. She ate slowly, taking her time. Why rush? If they were really desperate, as they had sounded over the phone, they would be willing to wait a little.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Nabiki set her bowl and chopsticks down, leaning against the woven chair casually. "I'm assuming there's something you want to talk about," she said, steepling her fingers, "most people don't call me just for some coffee and a chat."

"There is something we want to discuss." Answered Cologne, her ancient voice crackling like styrofoam. "I have a question… and a business proposition."

"Go on."

"Great-grandmother hear at park Ranma no love Akane," Shampoo cut in, "so we want know who Ranma love." Nabiki laughed.

"From the way you were building up the drama, I'd expected a much more challenging job than finding out Ranma's true love. As it just so happens, I already know who Ranma loves." Mousse choked on the tea he was drinking.

"Who?" he asked. Nabiki wagged a finger at him, as one might at a small child who wants candy or toys.

"This information isn't free. As a matter of fact, Ranma's paying money to keep me quiet. Quite a large sum, I might add."

"Hold on," said Cologne, "back up. How do you know in the first place?" Nabiki smiled evilly.

"Ranma should hide his 'journal' a little better, especially when he knows I'm in the house. He also tends to talk to himself when he thinks there's no one around."

"Heartless money-grabber." Shampoo muttered, but no one really paid attention to her. Nabiki leaned forward, pulling something out of her pocket and placing it on the table. Cologne squinted at it suspiciously.

"What's that?" she asked, reaching out to touch the box. Nabiki deftly scooted it away with a delicate finger.

"This is a little something I was thinking of selling to Ranma. You can see it… for a price, of course." The object was innocent enough, a 4x6 thin white box, tied together by a satin black ribbon. There was a tag tied to the bow. Shampoo tugged the tag out from under the ribbon.

"¥2,500. Is no much. We pay ¥2,500 no problem, as long it tell who Ranma love." Said Shampoo confidently. Nabiki wagged her finger.

"Firstly, of course it will tell you who Ranma likes. I may have extravagant prices, but I do not cheat with false promises. Secondly, ¥2,500 is the price for Ranma, and it's only that low because I feel sorry for the poor idiot. For you however…" Mousse groaned.

"How much?" Cologne asked, a tone of impatience creeping into her voice.

"Hmm… well, its ¥2,500 for the original box, then add Ranma's weekly fee to keep me quiet… ¥500 to even out the number…"

_"How much?"_ Shampoo snapped.

"¥9,000, and that's a bargain. You're lucky I'm in a good mood tonight." Cologne sighed, pulling out a silk wallet emblazoned with gold and silver dragons, popping it open and handing the correct sum of money to Nabiki, who smiled mischievously and pocketed the money. Mousse grabbed the box and tore off the ribbon and tossed it away unceremoniously. Nabiki lunged forward to catch it. "Be careful. This thing has to be in prime condition for Ranma." Mousse didn't comment, instead choosing to pick out a small, glossy piece of paper.

"Photos." He muttered, "They're photos." He squinted at the picture, pulling it closer. "Ranma's in love with a kangaroo?"

"Give Shampoo that," Shampoo snapped, snatching the photo and the box away from Mousse. She took a moment to study the picture, and then her mouth dropped open. "Aiya," she said, "no can be true… can it?" Cologne took the picture, glanced at it, then stood quickly.

"It's been nice doing business with you," she said briskly, handing the photo and box back to Nabiki, who promptly began to reassemble the package.

"Same here," she said, smirking. "if you don't mind, I have to go. Business to attend to." None of the Chinese standing around the table paid her any attention. They were far too absorbed in the whispering ghoul that was relaying a plan to the teenagers.

Nabiki felt a pang of guilt about betraying Ranma, but her money-obsessed half soon overcame the feeling. There were no repercussions for tonight, except maybe Ranma would be harassed a bit. He was a big boy. He could handle it.

It's amazing how wrong one person can be.

_Tendo dojo, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ranma, needless to say, was in a very bad mood. He couldn't believe that he had let Nabiki blackmail him; _again._ Not only had she demanded that he pay the weekly bribe to make her shut up, she also insisted that he buy this stupid box of photos, which she had subtly hinted at that this was part of the fee, and if he didn't buy it, she might "accidentally" slip up and reveal his secret crush. The box, in question, was being stubbornly ignored by Ranma, who had no wish to associate with Nabiki's blackmailing, even though his perverted side was crying out for a peek. The box was almost teasing him, because no matter how he tried to ignore it, Ranma still knew that it was on the other side of his bed.

"Fine!" Ranma growled to no one in particular, turning and ripping open the box, "I'll look, okay?" The photos were exquisite; nothing like the nearly-naked pervy photos Kuno was so fond of. They seemed to balance light and shadow, perfectly catching the innocence of their subject. Ranma found that his nose was bleeding; nothing huge, but nevertheless bleeding. Quickly wiping his lip with his hand, he spread the photos out into a circle around him, touching each one with his forefinger. "Amazing," he breathed. Nabiki must've gotten a new camera or something. Suddenly, ¥2,500 seemed like nothing. And really, it was nothing compared to the beautiful images before him.

"What's amazing?" asked a familiar voice. Ranma cursed under his breath, gathering up the photos as quick as he could without rumpling them. It figured that Akane would interrupt him at the climax of his marvel. Akane opened the door, just in time to see Ranma slipping something under his bed. "What was that?" she asked, stepping closer to the makeshift bed to peer down at Ranma.

"None of your business." Ranma muttered, blushing in spite of himself. He really was quite lucky to have stopped the nosebleed before Akane came in. Things would have gotten awkward and, knowing Akane, violent.

"What do you want?" Akane sighed.

"I'm just saying I'm sorry. You know, for how I behaved today, on our little… date." Ranma winced. Even the thought of their date sent shivers down his spine. It wasn't that he hated Akane, it was just… well, he didn't love her. And he detested going on dates with someone he wasn't in love with.

"Don't worry about it. I mean you've always been this way. Violent, un-cute, tomboyish…" Ranma never got to finish his sentence, because a large mallet crashed down on his head.

"You jerk!" Akane screamed, "Here I am, trying to apologize, and all you do is comment on how un-cute I am, and how you would rather be engaged to some hottie like that stupid Shampoo! Well, Ranma? Do you lover her? Do you want to marry her?" With that, Akane ran out of the room, sobbing hysterically. Ranma sighed, gingerly taking the mallet off his head and setting it down beside him.

"What should I do?" he asked the lump under his bed that was the box of photos. "You're the expert in love, here." Ranma chuckled. Expert in love. As if. Turning off the lights, he lay down, stroking the lump, not daring to take it out in case Pops or Soun came in unexpectedly.

"Wish you were here," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

**Author's notes: I know it's so painfully obvious who Ranma likes, but I had to try to make it at least a little suspenseful. Also, this fanfiction is based off the **_**manga. **_**Not the anime. The **_**manga. **_**Get it straight, people. **


	2. Windings

_Sairento Alley, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ryoga's battered shoes tapped flatly against the etched concrete every time he took a step. He really did need to get new shoes. The pair he had on now was riddled with repairs, and too tight on his toes. The soles were almost completely worn through. Soon, he would be better off barefoot. However, he could never find the shoe store, and even if he did manage to find his way there, he would never be able to afford a set. He barely had enough money for instant ramen. And besides, shoes were the least of his problem.

The backstreets were empty this particular spring morning, giving the place the eerie impression of being asleep. Sometimes, in times of extreme loneliness and malnutrition, Ryoga felt as though he was the only person in the world. Today was one of those days.

Ryoga felt it before he saw them. Battle aura broke up the lonely city like snow melting before a flame. Most people would have simply passed the feeling away as their imagination overstimulating, but Ryoga had been through too many battles to know that wasn't what it was. Turning in what he thought was the right direction, he spoke to a concrete wall.

"Whoever you are, show yourself."

For once, his internal compass led him true. A cat-like figure crept out from behind the structure, circling him silently. It was still too dark to identify the figure, or even see what gender they were. "What do you want?" asked Ryoga, still on alert for any other figures that might come.

"Shampoo want you stop poison." Ryoga breathed a sigh of relief, allowing his stance to relax. While it was true that he and Shampoo were not friends, they were allies.

"Poison what? If anyone's poisoning anything, it's Kodachi, not me."

"Shut up!" she snarled, finally coming close enough to see her face. She was distraught, eyes red from crying. She had not dropped her stance. "Shampoo is no stupid! Stop poison or Shampoo hurt you!" Ryoga frowned there was something else going on here. This was not some playful challenge. Shampoo was out for blood.

"Whoa, whoa. Back up. What's going on here? Who's poisoned?" Ryoga asked. At this, Shampoo completely lost it, reverting to her native Chinese tongue to curse and flying at him as though she really was a cat. Ryoga dodged the first kick, controlling his urge to fight back. Once Shampoo got tired, she would run off. There was no need to hurt her.

Something whistled past his ear, making a metallic hum. Ryoga cursed to himself, moving just in time to avoid the barrage of metal spatulas. First Shampoo, and now Ukyo? He could dodge one, but not two. Eventually he'd be forced to hurt someone.

"Stay still, you jackass!" yelled Ukyo, flying into his field of vision. Her giant spatula was raised, ready to smash. If he had not been busy dodging blows from the two girls, he might have replied _"Nice to see you too, spatula girl." _

His sharp teeth ground against each other in annoyance. This was getting tiring. He still had no idea why the two girls were attacking him, and there was no time to pause and ask.

Then he herd maniacal laughter and smelled the heavy scent of roses. _Crap, _he thought, _not Kodachi. If some of her powder gets into my system…_ Too late. The paralysis gas was inhaled through his nose, and in a matter of seconds, he was on the ground, helpless as a baby. The three circled him like predators, eyeing him as though he were a particularly fat rabbit. "We have you now, evil demon." Kodachi crowed triumphantly. Stupid sounding, but nevertheless true. He was as caught as a rat in a trap.

"Dammit," he managed to whisper, just before Shampoo's foot connected with his throat.

_Kogata Street, Nerima, Tokyo_

The cool spring breeze drifted pleasantly around the two women, bringing the smell of cherry blossoms and gardenias with it. Despite the pleasant scene, there was a ball of tension in the air. Nodoka couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong and she should walk straight back home. However, they had been planning this week for a long time, and she was not about to give it up willingly.

"Is there something wrong?" The sound of Kasumi's voice snapped Nodoka out of her daze. She looked up at the girl. Her kind brown eyes were filled with concern. Even though she was only nineteen, she had more responsibilities put on her than the average thirty-year-old housewife, most of it due to Nodoka's son and husband. She was probably the kindest person Nodoka had ever met and probably the most vigilant too. She had the ability to look past the surface, into the person inside.

"I'm fine Kasumi, just… there's something wrong. I can feel it." Kasumi nodded, turning her eyes back onto the road.

"I can feel it too. I'm sure Ranma and the others will be fine though. It's not like they haven't been through tough times before." Ranma? She thought it had to do with Ranma? Nodoka felt her hand straying automatically to the samurai sword on her belt. Lately, she had only pulled out the sword to face down anyone who was threatening her son, the vow of manhood long forgotten. Their family was all that mattered now, and if someone laid so much as a finger on Ranma…

"Is there something wrong with Ranma…?" Nodoka asked, her voice straining from the effort to sound casual.

"Oh, well, maybe. He's just been acting a little strange lately."

"Strange how?"

"Well… he's a lot more distant, and when he thinks no one is looking, he'll bury his head in his hands. He sometimes even cries."

"That doesn't sound very manly," Nodoka said before she could stop herself. She was instantly appalled. So what if he wasn't manly all the time? He was one of the greatest martial artists in all of Asia. He had saved her life, not to mention other people's lives as well. He had four beautiful fiancées. Those facts alone should earn him an award for masculinity, probably several. Who cared if he was distraught sometimes?

"Probably just a phase," she muttered, eyes downcast from shame. How could she ever doubt Ranma?

"Or maybe he's in love," said Kasumi quietly. Nodoka glanced up. Kasumi was gazing ahead at the road. There was a kind of knowledge in her eyes, not far from the look carried by the Dali Lama. _In love?_ Nodoka thought, her mind spinning with the possibility. Could it be that her son had finally fallen in love? Could it be that this nightmare of fiancées and suitors would finally come to a crashing halt?

"Well?" Nodoka whispered, "Is he? Is he in love?" Kasumi turned to look at her, a kind smile emblazoned on her face.

"Why don't you ask him yourself, after the spa?"

_Yes,_ thought Nodoka, turning to the road before her, _after the spa. I have waited all this time. I can wait for one more week._

_Furinkan High school, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Can't he be on time for once in his life?" growled Daisuke, his features flashing with annoyance. Hiroshi sighed, rolling his eyes.

"We've been through this before. Ranma technically is on time, but just barely. And who can blame him for being later than most people with that crazy household he lives in? We'd probably never make it out the door, never mind be on time."

"I know, I know, it's just…" Daisuke trailed off. They weren't really arguing; it'd been ages since that had happened. The two were just expressing their frustration and worry. There'd been a lot of weird rumors flying around about their best friend, and honestly, if Ranma had heard them, he might not come to school.

"I think I see him!" yelled Hiroshi, pointing towards a red spot in a sea of blue. Daisuke crawled to where he was sitting and looked at where Hiroshi was gesturing. It was indeed Ranma. His blue eyes were clouded with thoughts, and his brow was wrinkled. Akane was no longer at his side, though he didn't seem to notice, or if he did, he obviously didn't care. It had been like this for the few weeks or so. The two wondered often if he had had a fight with the powerful martial artist.

"Hey guys," Ranma muttered as he walked into their earshot. Now that he was close, he seemed even worse. There were dark circles encompassing his eyes, and there was a small amount of blood smeared across his face.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Hiroshi asked, standing to better examine his friend, "You look like you just had a fight with death."

"I did," Ranma said tiredly. However, before he could elaborate, Akane walked up to them.

"Ranma, we should go to class. The bell's about to ring." Even as she spoke, the sound of clanging filled their ears.

"Hmm?" Ranma asked, then heard the bell. "Oh. Yeah. Right. Class." He followed Akane up the school steps, his conversation with his friends all but forgotten. Hiroshi watched them go, a frown wrinkling his brow.

"This doesn't seem like…" Hiroshi began.

"… One of their usual fights, does it?" Daisuke finished, standing up and beginning to walk towards the building entrance. Hiroshi followed suit.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to lead to something really bad?" moaned Daisuke. Hiroshi grinned.

"This kind of weird crap always does. Anyways, it never affects us, so we have nothing to worry about, right?"

_Homeroom 1-F, Furinkan High school, Nerima, Tokyo_

_ Sweat dripped down Ranma's brow as he felt the metal brush against his tensed stomach muscles. He could hear the sound of sobbing from behind him, but he made no move to look behind his shoulder. _

_ The world was beginning to spin sickeningly around him, the smell of the sakura blossoms twisting into a foul odor. "I'm so sorry," he heard the feminine voice say, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry it had to be this way… I… I just wish… I wish you weren't like this..." Ranma winced. Those last words had hurt more than any sword, though he was about to feel that very experience in a few moments._

_ "This is the way I am… I know you're disappointed in me… but there is nothing I can do about it now, is there?" And with that, Ranma pushed the knife deep into his stomach, splattering the pink blossoms with blood. He could not suppress a gasp. The blade was as cold as ice, and more painful than words could describe. Tears leaked from his eyes. He might have failed his mother and everyone around him, but he would never regret it. Love was the only thing left to Ranma, and there was no way he was letting that go…_

"Not in my class, Saotome!"

The words were so unexpected that Ranma was forced to stop thinking about pain and honor and start considering the fact that he probably had just snoozed off in class. Guiltily raising his head, he was greeted by the unwelcome sight of his fellow classmates sniggering at him. "Go stand in the hall!" snarled his cranky teacher, pointing to a pile of buckets near his desk. Struggling to his feet, Ranma once again marveled at the effect these nightmares were having on his body. Not three weeks ago, he would have jumped to his feet, winked at Hiroshi and Daisuke, grabbed the buckets and done a triple summersault out the door. However, Ranma of now and Ranma of then were very different people.

Only after three weeks of humiliating payment to Nabiki made Ranma realize the gravity of the situation he was in. Before, it had been a game. A phase. No more than a passing revelation. However, as time passed, Ranma began to realize that this was more. Much more. There was no way to deny his feelings. If someone found out… if someone realized… It would be the end. No games. No phases. No excuses.

Just death.

_Unnamed Alley, Nerima, Tokyo_

It is hard to describe what goes through a person's mind as they kiss passionately in a back alley. I am in no way a romantic person, and I will not even attempt to describe what was racing through Hiroshi and Daisuke's minds as their lips crashed against each other's like waves breaking upon a beach.

Daisuke pulled Hiroshi against him, fingernails leaving red marks across his skin. Hiroshi gasped his head spinning with the effort of holding back. "Be quiet," he moaned, "someone could hear us." Daisuke ignored him, choosing instead to run his lips against the nape of Hiroshi's neck. The chatter was just a distraction from the fact that this was so wrong in so many ways. If someone actually caught him, Hiroshi doubted that Daisuke would actually stop. Nor did Hiroshi want him to.

Groaning softly, Hiroshi leaned back, letting Daisuke gain control. He had learned quickly that there was no point in fighting the slightly stronger boy, especially since things tended to get noisy if he did. A girl had caught them at it once, and the only reason they weren't the laughingstock of Nerima right now was because she happened to be a yaoi fangirl. They probably wouldn't be so lucky next time.

Hiroshi's phone rang, shattering the mood immediately. Daisuke sat up; they had somehow managed to get on top of one another; and put on an expression similar to that of a parent who had caught their child stealing cookies. "I thought I told you to turn that damn thing off," he grumbled. Hiroshi ignored him, fingers swiping expertly across the touchscreen.

"It's Soichi…" he murmured, scrolling through texts, "… wow. That is a lot of forwards." Daisuke groaned.

"Soichi interrupted with this? One of those stupid 'if you don't send this to five friends in five minutes, you will die' messages? You have to be freakin' kidding me." Hiroshi paled, a sight that sent shivers down Daisuke's spine.

"I think it could be a little more serious than that…" Daisuke jumped up, grabbing the touchscreen. He read for a moment, then joined Hiroshi in his coloring.

"Crap."

Author's notes: I know this took a long time to upload. Sorry! The teachers piled so much homework on us. Soooo damn much. If you have any suggestions, fire away, though no hating please. If you don't like, you shouldn't be reading this.


	3. Ignite

_Saeki residence, Nerima, Tokyo_

Mayumi Saeki was something of a legend in her neighborhood, being the most proficient martial artist who resided in the Gin district. Seeing as the Gin district was not the nicest place to live, seeing as it was filled with thugs who were only too happy to mug any innocent person who was just happening to walk by, Mayumi came in handy when dangerous situations arose.

So when Mayumi awoke one chilly morning, she was not particularly surprised to hear the sound of screaming coming from the direction of Sairento, an alley known for its gang violence. Not surprised, but not particularly pleased either. She hated it when people decided that the only way to go was to wander through back alleys and pounce on unsuspecting people for no good reason at all.

Not even bothering to put on her house slippers, Mayumi shot out of her bed as fast as her bed would allow her, snatching her cellphone off the kitchen counter. She knew it would be patently ridiculous to try and defeat the thugs on her own; she was petite even for a Japanese woman, barely topping 5' 2"; however, thanks to years of training, she was most definitely faster and could most likely knock them around quite a bit.

As she burst through her apartment doors and leapt down the stairs, she began to dial 110. The phone picked up on the third ring.

"Hello, this is the Tokyo Police Department. What is the emergency?" asked a pleasant female voice.

"There is screaming coming from an alleyway near where I live, a mugger or possibly even gang violence."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the Gin neighborhood, Sairento alley." Mayumi heard the woman make a noise similar to grunting. She had obviously dealt with Sairento alley before.

"Well send out a force car as soon as possible."

"That'll be gre-" Mayumi stopped halfway through her sentence.

"Ma'am? Is there something wrong? Ma'am?" asked the policewoman. Mayumi did not answer, her ability to speak having apparently abandoned her. She had flung the apartment building door open, and had found an unexpected and quite frankly disturbing tableau splayed magnificently before her. Three young and beautiful girls circled around an unidentifiable huddled figure on the ground, which they were preceding to beat them viciously and taunt them with curses I dare not write down. The strangest thing was that the figure being attacked was completely still, and made no move to defend themselves from the vicious onslaught. That was either because they didn't care, or they were too immobilized from the beating to do anything, and with Mayumi's experience, she figured it was probably the latter.

"Hey!" she finally managed to yelp, her voice an octave higher than it usually was. Even from this small glance, she could tell these girls were just as proficient in martial arts as she was, probably even more so. The girls turned sharply, their eyes flashing dangerously.

"Aiya," muttered the blue-haired, chúi-wielding girl, "Shampoo no expect there to be people to witness…"

_Shampoo?_ Mayumi thought to herself as she settled into her stance, _Is that some kind of code name? And what's with the cutesy voice and bad grammar?_

"It doesn't matter," said the girl carrying a giant tool that Mayumi supposed was a spatula of some kind, "It's not like we did anything wrong…" Mayumi was about to point out that beating someone until they were unable to move was indeed _doing something wrong,_ but she was interrupted by a burst of maniacal laughter from the last and probably weirdest girl of them all. She had her hair in a side ponytail, and was wearing nothing but a leotard emblazoned with rose petals.

"Bwahahaha! For once, Miss Ukyo, you are correct. There is not only a lack of morals in beating this particular man, but a justice! The world shall be rid of yet another foul creature." By now, Mayumi was thoroughly confused. What was going on here?

"I… I've called the police. I advise you to leave before they arrive." The girls looked at her in surprise.

"Hmm… Shampoo see now." Said the blue-haired one, and Mayumi suddenly realized that she was referring to herself, "No matter. Shampoo get message through to pig-boy. No need to linger." And with that dramatic statement, Shampoo turned and jumped into the spreading darkness. The other two quickly followed suit, the leotard girl giving one last burst of maniacal laughter before departing.

For a moment, Mayumi just stood there in stunned silence. It had ended as quickly as it had begun. _Three young girls attacking one lone male. It's like the opposite of what usually happens._ One lone male. Mayumi quickly crossed to the boy, scooping up her cellphone.

The boy was about 16, the same age as the girls were, with dark black hair that fell in front of his face. His eyes were mostly closed, only open enough to show two green slits of iris. The rest of his body was not in as good of condition. Blood was trickling down his face and past his lips. He was badly bruised in many places, and it looked from the awkward angle of his arm that he might have a broken bone.

The boy's eyes opened a fraction. They were woozy and unfocused, perhaps from head injury. They were filled with something else, too; a sight that Mayumi had seen in far too many people who wandered through this world.

Sadness.

The look startled her, making her heart speed up a few notches. The boy opened his mouth to speak, then coughed, bloody strings splattering his already ruined yellow shirt.

"Akane," he whispered, then fainted back into a pool of his own blood.

_Tendo dojo, Nerima, Tokyo_

Akane was never a morning person, but this particular day had her in a very foul mood as she dragged herself out of bed, put on her clothes for school, and walked down to the kitchen. To her surprise, Ranma was already sitting at the table, blearily picking at his breakfast. Akane had always been forced to awaken her fiancée.

Now that Akane looked at him, she realized how different the boy had been. Dark circles ringed his eyes, as though he hadn't slept in years. He was as pale as a ghost and very quiet. Most unusual. Normally, he was loud and boisterous, with a demeanor of such pride and arrogance that it could drive you insane. Though it was true that Akane noticed how he had mellowed out, she had not noticed the look in his pale blue eyes. The look… of defeat. Very different than the Ranma Akane knew.

"What're you doin', Akane, just standing in the door like that?" Ranma asked, and Akane was relieved to hear at least a little of his fighting spirit remained.

"None of your business," she muttered, hoping that this would snap him back, but all he did was return to contemplating a particularly fluffy patch of rice. As Kasumi handed Akane her breakfast, she could not help but notice her dad ribbing Genma and gesturing towards the now docile Ranma. Genma nodded, and then snatched a pickle from the top of Ranma's rice. Akane winced internally. Genma was rarely so obvious about his food-stealing habits, and when he was caught, as he was most definitely was now, Ranma would beat him within an inch of his life.

But apparently not today. All Ranma did was shoot his father a nasty look, and then sighed softly. That little noise that escaped Ranma's lips was the last straw for Genma. "Boy!" he shouted, standing to make his point, "You are getting more girly by the moment! Man up and move on!" Ranma shot another dirty look at his father, muttering something under his breath that was no doubt a curse of some sort. "Ha!" crowed Genma, circling his son, "You can't even say what you want to my face! Oh, what a man you've turned out to be!" Ranma gritted his teeth, joining his father in a standing position.

"You want to know what I said?" Ranma hissed, his voice soft and dangerous, very unlike the mindless screaming that usually spilled from his lips when he was angry, "I said you'd never had said that if mom was here, 'cause she'd make me kill myself. And if I died, then you'd follow within a heartbeat." Genma stiffened slightly. They hadn't spoken of the treaty in a very long time, because it scared both of them. For Ranma to bring it up, obviously unafraid of the threat of death…

"Y-your mother has nothing t-to do with today," Genma stuttered, trying to regain his composure, "It's all your doing. You need to shape up, boy. The way you've been behaving is unacceptable! Whatever's wrong, you need to stop moping about like this!" At this, Ranma leaped across the table, causing Kasumi to murmur a little "oh my".

"What do you know about it, you stupid old man?" Ranma shrieked, his voice shrill with madness, "You know nothing about me! NOTHING! I don't even know why I put up with all you people! Are you blind, huh? Are you? Do you think I'm like this 'cause I want to be? The only smart one around here is Nabiki, and she's a freaking extortionist!"

"RANMA, CALM DOWN!" Genma yelled, hitting his son violently across the head. Ranma fell onto the low tabletop, making Akane and Soun to shriek in surprise. The table snapped in half, causing plates and bowls to fall and the ground, the ones not made of plastic shattering on contact. _He should be getting up by now,_ Akane thought; _he shakes off Genma's hits like so much wind._ But Ranma made no move to get up. In fact, he wasn't moving at all. "Ranma…?" Genma said uncertainly, his voice quavering as he realized that he could have badly injured his son.

And then Genma was on the ground, Ranma standing triumphant on his chest. Not even Akane or Soun, with their trained eyes, had seen what had happened. "I win," growled Ranma, his voice filled with resentment, "so leave me alone, y' hear! My personal life and feelings are none of your business!"

"Ranma-" Genma began, but Ranma interrupted with a sharp jab in the gut, making his unfortunate father make a sound similar to that of a parasol being opened too quickly.

"Shut up! All of you need to just leave me alone! Everybody!" Ranma gave one final jab at his father, then turned on his heels and ran out the open sliding door to the outside.

"Ranma!" shouted Akane, jumping over Genma to pursue the boy.

"Just leave me alone!" screamed Ranma one last time, disappearing from sight behind the garden wall.

_Homeroom 1-F, Furinkan High school, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Um… Well, I guess he wasn't feeling well…"

"You _guess _he wasn't feeling well? Miss Tendo, you're the one who lives at his house. How can you not be sure?" Akane winced. Her excuse for Ranma's absence was lame enough; it didn't help that her voice was shaky from uncertainty.

"No, no. He had a fever, so he didn't come to school." The teacher stared at her, as though checking for honesty. Finally, he turned to the chalkboard and began to write notes on it, while announcing what page to turn to in the textbook. As students rummaged around in their bags for the book, Akane felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Swiveling her head, she saw Hiroshi giving her a meaningful look. _Tell me what really is going on after class._

Akane nodded imperceptibly. _Okay._

_Furinkan High school, Nerima, Tokyo_

As soon as class was over, Hiroshi walked straight up to Akane and asked in a hushed voice "Was it the texts?"

"Hmm?" Akane asked, not expecting for him to ask such a question.

"You know, the texts. Last night. Everyone in our grade got them." Akane shook her head, not sure how she should respond to such a strange statement, especially seeing as no one had texted her last night.

"I didn't get texted last night, and neither did Ranma. Why? Is someone spreading rumors about Ranma?" Hiroshi looked suddenly uncomfortable.

"I just assumed you had gotten these… I'm surprised that you didn't… Though I suppose it makes sense, since Ranma would probably find the source of the rumor and beat the crap out of that person…" Akane was losing patience, a sentiment that wouldn't surprise many people.

"So then someone is spreading rumors. Who? What's the rumor?" Hiroshi looked up at her again, an odd expression on his face. Could it be… pity? They were walking through the hall now, almost to Akane's locker.

"Well… There are too many forwards and too many numbers to be totally sure about who started the rumor, but I can show you the text if you like…" Akane nodded, not bothering to point out that phones were not allowed to be turned on during school hours.

They had reached Akane's locker, and in an attempt to be nonchalant, Akane opened her locker with one hand, and with the other held out for Hiroshi's phone. In a few seconds, she felt the cool metal slide into her hand.

As she pressed the button for the phone to power on, Akane could not help but admire the phone itself, even though she knew it wasn't the time. It finally powered on, and Akane quickly found the text section. "The first one?" she asked Hiroshi, finger hovering over the first text at the top. For some reason, Hiroshi blushed.

"N-no, it's the tenth one down." Deciding it was not the best time to ask, Akane scrolled down and clicked the correct text. What popped up was a long list of forwards.

"It's at the bottom. There are a lot of forwards, I know." Scrolling silently through the text body, Akane couldn't help but notice that people walking by were giving them weird looks. If she didn't hurry up, they were going to be late to class.

Finally reaching the actual text, Akane read the first line. That was all she needed.

"Thanks Hiroshi," she muttered, shoving the phone back at him. He blinked, surprised.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked, putting the phone back in his pocket. He knew perfectly well what was bothering her, but felt it necessary to ask.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking about the best way to beat the crap out of whatever jackass first suggested my fiancée was gay."

**Author's Notes: I have a lot to say this time, so buckle down. Firstly, yes, Ryoga's eyes are green in this fanfiction. That is because they are green in the manga (I told you!). I know the manga is in black and white, but when Ryoga is on the cover, they always show him with green eyes. Secondly, if you were wondering, Hiroshi's first nine texts were from Daisuke, and that was why he was blushing. Need I say anything else? BTW, I don't know what kind of phone he has. Just pick your favorite touchscreen. Finally, I know it was painfully obvious to all of you that Ranma was either gay or bi, but I had to put that to make her reaction seem more interesting and actually put the g-word into context. And that is the end of my ridiculously long AN! R&R, and people, I mean that both ways!**

**Edit: Pfft. Of course I forgot something. Well, actually, two things. 110 is the number for the police in Japan. The hospital number is 119. The second thing is I want to ask you guys who I should make the uke and seme. I already have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but I would still like your feedback. **


	4. Pain

_Ono Clinic, Nerima, Tokyo_

_ "This is the way I am… I know you're disappointed in me… but there is nothing I can do about it now, is there?" And with that, Ranma pushed the knife deep into his stomach, splattering the pink blossoms with blood. He could not suppress a gasp. The blade was as cold as ice, and more painful than words could describe. Tears leaked from his eyes. He might have failed his mother and everyone around him, but he would never regret it. Love was the only thing left to Ranma, and there was no way he was letting that go… As his vision began to black out, he could hear the jeers of his friends and family, all calling out for him to die. He wanted to tell them to stop, but the words wouldn't come. He felt his head hit the soft blossoms. The tears were falling harder now, as though his body was determined to rid himself of the liquid before he died. Opening his mouth, Ranma could feel blood drip from his lips as he gasped his dying word._

_ "Ryoga…"_

The telephone rang, abruptly snapping Ranma out of his unplanned afternoon nap. Blinking a few times to get the sight of blood and tears out of his vision, he sat up to see Dr. Tofu waving slightly at him while holding the receiver to his ear. For a moment, panic flitted across his heart as it occurred to him that it might be his father or Akane calling, and then he realized that that was ridiculous. Even if they did stop by, he could be out the window in a heartbeat, as long as he didn't fall asleep again.

"Hello, Ono Clinic. How may I help you?" For a moment, he was silent as he listened into the receiver. "… I see. Yes, I do know her. I'll tell her and her family as soon as I can. What did you say the boy's name was again?" Another pause. Ranma wondered who they were talking about. "I see… He's too delirious to say more than her name. Say, what clothes was he wearing when he came in? I may know him." As the person on the other side spoke, Dr. Tofu's brow furrowed in thought. "… Yellow shirt, traveling pants, Chinese shoes and bandannas?" Ranma felt his heart speed up several notches.

"Ryoga? What's wrong with Ryoga?" Dr. Tofu glanced at him, putting a finger to his lips before turning back to the phone.

"Yes, I probably know him. Ryoga Hibiki, see if that names comes up in your medical records." Dr. Tofu paused again. Ranma tapped his foot against the floor impatiently, signaling for the conversation to end. "What happened to him, in detail?" He listened for a while more. By this point, Ranma was just about ready to snatch the phone from the doctors' hand and scream at the person to tell him what had happened. "… I see. Thank you for calling me… You're welcome. The pleasure was mine. I'll be over there shortly. Goodbye." He hung up, his eyes filled with concern.

"Who was that? What happened to Ryoga? Who were they talking about?" Ranma asked, the blood pounding in his ears.

"One question at a time!" Dr. Tofu said exasperatedly, sitting down and pouring himself a fresh cup of tea. "I suppose I should just tell you everything, then." Ranma nodded enthusiastically. "Well, that was my friend Takumi. He works at Tokai University Hospital."

"Ryoga's in a hospital?" Ranma shrieked, his eyes wild with fear and anger. Dr. Tofu made the "calm down" motion with his hand until Ranma started breathing normally again.

"Yes, Ryoga's in a hospital. He was…" Tofu gave him a look before continuing. "Well, Ryoga was walking through an alleyway when he was attacked by three teenage girls."

"Shampoo, Ukyo and Kodachi," murmured Ranma, "it has to be them."

"Maybe. Anyways, a local resident of the alleyway called the police and then the hospital. The only thing Ryoga would say was 'Akane Tendo'. Since that obviously wasn't his name, the hospital staff didn't know what to do with that name." Ranma felt a little pang at hearing that Ryoga hadn't mentioned him, but then he realized he was being ridiculous. Ryoga hated him.

"However, Takumi though the name sounded familiar when he remembered that I had talked about Akane before. Thinking of this, he called me and told me what had happened. I promised him that I would tell Akane about Ryoga's condition, even though they weren't technically family." Tofu paused to sip his tea. "I also promised him that I would go over there, since I said I knew him."

"Right now? Can we go right now?" Ranma yelped, forgetting all about his promise to himself to lie low, at least for today. The young doctor gave him a quizzical look, before nodding.

"Of course, it's just… Well you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I want to. Ryoga… is my friend. Of course I want to go! Who do you think I am some uncaring person?"

"Of course not…" Tofu trailed off. He couldn't help but feel as though there was something very different about the boy. When he had first stumbled into his clinic, bleary-eyed and shoulders sagging, he had seemed so… defeated. Now, he was full of life. What could have made such a dramatic change in him?

_Cat Café, Nerima, Tokyo_

Even though it had only been two nights ago when Nabiki and the Chinese proprietors of the Cat Café had met and changed the course of Ranma's life, it seemed as though it had been years ago. Shampoo was uncomfortably aware of this fact as the other two females across the table stared at her.

"Why are we here, Shampoo? It's not like you to invite your rivals over for tea and Ramen." Ukyo said, sniffing her tea suspiciously before taking a sip.

"Shampoo call you here to tell you something about Ranma sudden love of Ryoga." Ukyo shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"But that's over. Since he's incapacitated, Ryoga will no longer be able to give Ranma the love potion, and then Ranma will realize that he doesn't love Ryoga after he's weaned off the drug, right? That's what you told us, unless you were _lying."_ Ukyo spat out the last word as though it was poison. Kodachi laughed manically.

"Yes, my dear amazon, if you are lying to us, we shall make you pay." Ukyo frowned slightly at the "we" part, but otherwise seemed to agree.

"Shampoo no lying!" she protested, "Shampoo just begin to doubt that beat Ryoga is enough!"

"And why would you doubt that?" Ukyo snarled, obviously annoyed. Shampoo sighed, running her fingers through her long hair.

"Shampoo… Shampoo think that Ranma need one final push to break spell. One more thing so no love Ryoga anymore. We just try wean Ranma off love potion, Ranma no love Ryoga as much, but still love him, and when Ryoga get out of hospital, Ryoga just give Ranma new dose, and we have same problem over again."

"Why do we not just kill the foul beast and get it over with?" Kodachi asked, adding a little of her laugh after she was done with the sentence.

"Because police more concerned with murder than beat. We no can kill Ryoga." Shampoo said, grimacing slightly.

"So what's your plan?" Ukyo snapped.

"Plan already start. Shampoo think if Ranma is humiliated enough about be… gay, then Ranma deny love for Ryoga to end of earth. Shampoo no like be mean to fiancée, but Shampoo have no choice now.

"So Shampoo start mean rumor about Ranma… and Shampoo send it to few trusted people at Furinkan High School and tell to forward to friends." Shampoo had pulled out her cellphone, a pink glittery thing, flipping open the screen and showing the two other girls the pre-prepared text message.

"Hey… I got that text message! I kept thinking about how someone had spied on our conversation." Ukyo murmured, squinting at the screen. After Nabiki had talked to Shampoo and the others, the amazon had decided that, as much as she didn't like it, she couldn't defeat Ryoga on her own. Cologne was too busy making the antidote and Mousse wouldn't lay a finger on Ryoga, either because he wanted Shampoo for himself or he was secretly a yaoi fanboy. So Shampoo was forced to call her worst enemies, Ranma's other fiancées, to help her defeat him.

"Ohohoho! I too received the text, and I do not attend Furinkan High School! What a deceitfully clever girl you are, Shampoo."

"Where do we come into play with this?" Ukyo asked.

"See, many rumor fly around about Ranma, but everyone too afraid to say anything, because no want to get beat. So we disguise us and we go find Ranma and insult." For a moment, there was silence.

"You want us…" Ukyo began.

"… to insult Ranma-darling so he falls out of love with that swine?" Kodachi finished. Shampoo nodded, holding up several costumes.

"Shampoo see this way; if we is brave enough insult Ranma, soon others follow. Old resentment come out. In time, whole city against Ranma. So Ranma deny to very end that he love Ryoga. That when Great-grandmother give antidote to Ranma and even slight like of Ryoga disappear."

"Antidote? You never said anything about an antidote." Ukyo protested.

"No worry. Great-grandmother make sure Ranma no love Ryoga, as long as you is willing to work to make plan happen."

"Of course," Ukyo said, "I will do anything to save Ranma from that jackass Ryoga, even if it means working with you."

"Ohohoho! Don't forget me. I would cross the entire world for Ranma-darling."

"Swear on you love for Ranma." Shampoo said, putting her and in the middle of the table. "I swear."

Solemnly, the other two girls put their hands on top of Shampoo's and murmured their vows, promising to do anything to make Ranma not love Ryoga. Even if it meant sending both of them to hell.

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ryoga was having a fast asleep when Ranma burst into his room, breathless and bursting with energy. Rubbing his eyes and sitting up, Ryoga glared menacingly at the boy who had somehow managed to cross the room in less than two seconds.

"I was having a lovely dream when you decided to come and wake me up." Ryoga growled, apparently not at all fazed by Ranma's sudden appearance.

"Lovely? What are you a girl?" Ranma grinned, dodging the punch that Ryoga had thrown. It wouldn't have hurt, anyways. Ryoga was weak from the drugs pumping through his system at this very moment.

"Why are you here, anyways? It's not like you care that I'm in the hospital, anyways." Ranma's grin disappeared like a summer rainbow.

"I do care. I'm your friend." Ryoga snorted disbelievingly.

"Sure, Ranma. How long have I known you? Two years? When have you ever done anything nice for me?" Ranma gave him a look before sighing and pulling up one of the small plastic chairs that had been lying in a corner. Ryoga eyed him suspiciously. Ranma seemed… resigned, a very unusual feeling for him.

"Look, Ryoga… I'm really not in the mood to get into a fight, and I'm not in the mood to get into a deep discussion. I just want to say… I'm sorry." Ryoga looked around in mock surprise.

"Ranma just apologized! Did someone get that on camera?" Ranma moaned and dropped his heads into his hands, causing Ryoga to blink in surprise.

"I'm serious! Just… I know I'm not the nicest guy… actually, I'm a jerk. A really, really big jerk." Ryoga gaped internally. Hearing him apologize was one thing, but using derogative terms on himself was quite another. "I kind of regret being so mean to you… you didn't deserve all of this crap happening to you…"

"I…" Ryoga mumbled, not sure how to deal with such extreme measures, "I, uh… I accept your apology." It was weak, but it was all Ryoga could think of. Almost instantaneously, Ranma's head popped up, his eyes bright with excitement. For the second time, Ryoga blinked in surprise.

"You forgive me? For the bread, for the pig? For everything?" And before Ryoga could explain that no, he was not forgiving Ranma for everything, the boy pulled him into a tight embrace that squeezed the breath from Ryoga's lungs and almost made him black out. "I'm so glad, Ryoga." The pigtailed boy whispered, a sound that sent shivers down Ryoga's spine. And then he was sitting by Ryoga, brushing some imaginary dust from his shirt.

"Ranma-" began Ryoga, but Ranma cut him off.

"Hey, I just remembered," Ranma said, blithely ruffling Ryoga's hair and instantly regretting it; the tangled black mop was still matted with blood. "I haven't gotten you flowers or a card or anything." Ryoga raised his hands defensively.

"Ranma, you really don't have-" Ranma cut him off again, this time by removing his hand from Ryoga's hair and setting it gently on his shoulder, an act of such familiarity that it startled Ryoga into silence.

"I want to. We're friends, remember?" Ranma gave an affectionate squeeze to Ryoga's shoulder before standing. The plastic chair made an annoying scraping sound against the cold tiles.

"Wait- where are you going?" Ryoga said, beginning to panic when he saw Ranma headed towards the window. It wasn't like he was worried that Ranma was going to get hurt; he'd jumped out of windows higher than this, and they were on the fifth floor; it was the fact he usually only jumped out if he had a good reason, like someone was coming.

"To get your flowers." Ranma said, beginning to open the latch. "Oh, yeah. Ryoga, Akane and the others are coming pretty soon. If I'm right, in about 30 seconds. Say hi for me, okay?"

"Ranma, wait-" But he was already gone, jumped through the window onto the pavement below. On pure instinct, Ryoga slid out of bed and walked over, ignoring the IV tugging at his arm. Ranma was already on the ground, looking up towards Ryoga's room. He waved; apparently unaware of the strange looks he was getting from bystanders. Ryoga felt his face muscles try to smile and grimace at the same time. Ranma would always be Ranma.

**Author's Notes: Hi guys! Nice to see you again! What was that? *whispers* Two days late? Well, excuse me! At least I'm not like those people who write a story, get to the good part, and then don't update for three years! Oh, well, yeah. So Shampoo started the rumors. I think I'm getting worse at writing, not better. Oh well :(**

**Anyways, please review and stuff. We're almost to the yaoi! So please, tell me which you prefer as the seme/uke, though I probably won't listen, since I prefer one over the other. I just want to know. Well, sorry for the lateness and the crappiness. At least I'm still fighting! **

**Edit: *Reads chapter over again and bangs head against laptop* Arrg! This chapter sucks! I guess the only thing to do about it is edit it over again over a longer period of time (More work for me. Fun) I want to say I hope the next chapter will be better, because this is just pure crap. XP**


	5. Flower

_Aoi Okanao's Flower Shop, Nerima, Tokyo_

Almost as soon as Ranma entered the small shop filled with colorful arrangements of flowers, he collapsed behind a large potted plant and began to silently curse his total stupidity._ I'm such an idiot,_ Ranma thought mournfully;_ I acted like a stupid schoolgirl back there. Why can't I just be normal around Ryoga? It's not like I'm ever going to tell him. I have to marry Akane and create a happy martial-arts family. I have no choice in the matter, so why can't I convince myself that Ryoga is nothing more than a rival and a friend?_

"Love doesn't work that way." A voice behind him stated. Ranma jumped, his head snapping around to look at the owner of the flower store standing behind him. Ranma blanched. He had been so involved in his thoughts that he had forgotten completely about the old owner of the flower shop, presumably named Aoi.

"W-what are you talking about, old man?" Ranma said, stuttering slightly before he could regain his composure.

"You were muttering to yourself about how you can't be normal around someone, and how you can't manage to convince yourself that this person is nothing more than a friend, and I am saying that love doesn't work that way. Even if you do lie to yourself that you don't love a person, your heart will never accept it." He paused, looking closer at the martial artist. "You don't believe me, do you? You should. A person my age usually knows what we're talking about."

"Sure, whatever you say." Though his tone was brave, Ranma quailed inside. How much had he heard? Ranma stood, his eyes never leaving the man's.

"So… I am assuming that you are here to buy flowers for that person." Aoi said, his gaze boring into Ranma, like a hot poker through snow. Ranma nodded. "What's the occasion? Birthday? Date?"

"Um… She's in a hospital." Ranma said. Usually he would be more confident, but his encounter with Ryoga had left him shaken.

Aoi raised his eyebrows. "She's in the hospital, eh? Interesting." He began to walk through the rows of bouquets, sorted by color. Not wanting to be left behind, Ranma quickly followed suit. "Does she know you love her?" The old man asked casually, bony finger lightly touching a rose. Ranma flushed.

"That's none of your business, old man." He growled. The old man chuckled.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Aoi paused, looking back at Ranma. The boy was staring back at him indignantly, as though he didn't care one way or the other. The old man smiled. He had seen that look before. "Do you have any particular kinds of flower in mind?" The man asked.

Ranma blinked. In truth, he hadn't thought about it. "Uh… well… roses would be nice." Ranma muttered, trying to ignore the look that the old man was giving him.

"Roses? Such a cliché. Does it have to be roses? I find that other flowers have more… meaning."

"No, it doesn't have to be roses!" Ranma growled, beginning to get annoyed at the man's serenity of the matter.

"What about this, then?" Aoi asked, lightly plucking a single flower from the shelf and handing it to Ranma for inspection. It was a white rose-like specimen, star shaped, with six dominant petals encircling the rest.

"Um…" Ranma said. The flower was pretty, but he had no idea of its worth or even what it was.

"Do you want it? Or… do you not care?" Ranma looked from the flower to Aoi and back again.

"I'll take it."

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Now," the nurse said, her eyes filled with something like admonition, "you are to be of the utmost respect in that ward. It is most likely that Mr. Hibiki is asleep, and even if he is not, you are not to ask him about how he was beaten, who did it, or anything along those lines. Such things are very psychologically scarring, and under no circumstances should they be brought up. If Mr. Hibiki brings the subject up, you are to change the direction of the conversation, understand? He is probably going through severe mental trauma, and should not be reminded of that." Akane nodded, only half listening to the woman's rant. Halfway through school, one of the teachers came up to her and informed her of Ryoga's state in the hospital. Apparently, since he had no family to see to him, they were requesting that Akane and her family would take care of him for a little while at her home. So Akane and Nabiki had left school to visit Ryoga in the hospital and tell him the news of who would take care of him.

The Tendo family, Genma and Dr. Tofu (who had made the call to her father in the first place) had gone to see Ryoga in the hospital. Now an overly-protective nurse was leading them down the hall to Ryoga's ward and lecturing them on hospital behavior. Akane was sure that Ryoga was perfectly fine. He had gotten out of worse scrapes than this one.

"Remember, absolutely no discussion about what happene- Mr. Hibiki!" They had finally reached the door to the ward, and upon opening it, the nurse had apparently seen something she didn't like. Scooting past her father, Akane peered into the space. Ryoga, who was awake and apparently feeling fine, had opened the window and was looking down on something below. Blushing slightly, Akane realized that Ryoga was wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown, and the way he was bent was quite revealing.

Ryoga looked away from the window, and upon spotting Akane, blushed deeply, hand automatically moving to tug the edge of the paper towel-like garment down a few inches. "H-hi Akane," he mumbled.

"Mr. Hibiki!" The nurse shrieked again, striding over to the boy and leading him towards his bed, "What were you thinking? You can't walk when you're in this state! If you needed assistance, you could have just called for one of us!" She pointed towards a small button on the metal desk next to Ryoga's bed.

"I'm all right…" He muttered, throwing an uncertain glance towards Akane as he lowered himself into the bed. The nurse huffed, obviously not satisfied. Akane was strongly reminded of an overprotective grandmother.

"Well, if you need anything, just press the button and call!" She began to walk towards the door and, seeming to think better of it, stopped and glanced pointedly at Akane. "No monkey business, you two. If you get him upset, hurt him, or annoy him in any way… Let's just say it won't be pretty." And she was gone, leaving the group in a very awkward silence.

"Here, Ryoga," Nabiki said finally, thrusting a bouquet of yellow roses in a vase at the surprised boy, "Akane _insisted _that we get them for you on the way here." Typical Nabiki. Always managed to make the situation ten times worse.

"I… uhmmmnnn, thanks…" Ryoga mumbled, placing the flowers gingerly on the desk. Akane glared at her sister for a few moments before turning to the lost boy.

"Listen, Ryoga… since you don't have anyone to go home to, why don't you stay with us for a while? At least until you're completely healed. You can have Ranma's room…" She trailed off; intimidated by the look that Ryoga was giving her. It was a strange combination of curiosity and disbelief.

"Did… did something happen between you and Ranma?" He said, green eyes calculating. Akane flushed. Of course he would notice Ranma's absence at her shoulder. He wasn't dumb.

"I-err…" Before Akane could say anything else, Genma silenced her with a wave of the hand. Immediately, Ryoga's eyes turned on the heavyweight man.

"Ranma, the ungrateful brat, ran away this morning. Something about being misunderstood or whatever. He should learn to respect his elders, and to listen to the concerns of his fiancée!" Genma bellowed, his eyes flashing dangerously behind his glasses.

"I see…" he murmured, green eyes flickering towards the still-open window. Akane briefly wondered what was going through his head.

"Well, I'm off," pronounced Genma, turning towards the door. Akane was surprised.

"You aren't staying?" She asked. Genma shook his head.

"I have to go find that ingrate son of mine." He growled, apparently angered at the thought. Soun nodded.

"I suppose I should go help," he said, following his friend out the door. Nabiki watched them go, brow furrowed slightly.

"I should probably leave too… business, you know…" she trailed off, catching the door with her hand and swiftly stepping into the hallway. Akane glanced at Dr. Tofu, half expecting him to leave too, but he simply walked over to Ryoga's bed and sat down in the chair that was already beside him. If Akane had not been preoccupied, she probably would have thought it odd that there was a chair pulled away from the wall.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Ryoga, pulling up the second chair against the wall and settling herself beside the bed. Ryoga flushed, snapped out of his train of thought by the question.

"Fine…" he mumbled, playing nervously with the blanket edge. Akane thought he seemed perfectly fine, and was probably not terribly bothered by the fact that he had just had his butt kicked by three apparently unidentified muggers. Hoping that she was correct on this theory, she leaned in to ask the question that had been bugging her ever since the teacher approached her.

"Did you see who they were? The muggers, I mean." Ryoga gave her an odd look, something like interest momentarily flashing through the embarrassment.

"Yes…?"

"Was it… you know, the other fiancées?"

Ryoga nodded, his expression dead serious, though the lingering blush ruined the effect somewhat. "Have you… talked to them? Because I don't know why they attacked me…"

Akane looked disappointed. "I was hoping you'd tell me the answer to that very question. Everything's so confusing right now… It's like I'm trying to solve a puzzle that I don't have all the pieces to…" Dr. Tofu cleared his throat, making Akane jump. She had forgotten the young doctor was even there.

"Ryoga… did they say anything to you before they attacked?"

The boy looked slightly surprised at the question. "Yes… Shampoo said… what did she say? Let me think, she said… she said that she wanted me to stop poisoning something. When I said I didn't know what she was talking about, she screamed and attacked." Dr. Tofu's brow furrowed in thought. He turned away and began to murmur to himself. Akane shrugged, long past the point where she would have tried to pry into the young doctor's thoughts.

"Listen, Ryoga…" Akane said, her voice soft with friendly sweetness. Ryoga, who had been watching Tofu curiously, jumped and turned back to Akane. His face had regained the red shade and was threatening to turn an even deeper shade of scarlet. "Right now, it doesn't matter why Shampoo and the others attacked you, it just matters that they did. I promise I'll take care of you. You're my friend, after all."

Ryoga blinked, opened his mouth, and was interrupted by Dr. Tofu standing so suddenly that the chair skidded to the ground. "I have it! I understand now!" He turned to Ryoga, clutching the shocked boy by the shoulders. "Ryoga, listen, if my theory is correct, you are in terrible dan-"

The door slammed open, a very annoyed looking nurse standing in the hallway beyond. As soon as she saw Dr. Tofu grabbing Ryoga by the shoulders, she shrieked. "Get out!" the nurse screeched, "Mr. Hibiki is going to be treated now, so get out! I cannot believe that you would act so roughly with an injured patient! GET OUT!"

"Wait, just a few more minutes," Dr. Tofu pleaded, but apparently the nurse had had enough. Striding briskly over to the doctor, she began to forcibly push him out the door. Akane sprang to her feet, throwing an apologetic look at the lost boy.

"I'm sorry Ryoga; I'll tell you Dr. Tofu's theory as soon as I can." And with that, she and Dr. Tofu were gone, leaving Ryoga with the flustered nurse.

"Brilliant," she muttered, standing up straighter and grimacing, "crazy visitors making everything harder." She walked to Ryoga, pressing a button on one of the beeping monitors by his bed. Instantly, Ryoga felt woozy, as though he had been hit over the head with one of Akane's mallets.

"Don't worry, it only takes a few more moments for you to fall asleep," the nurse said, smiling apologetically. Ryoga tried to answer, but found he couldn't move his lips. The last thing he saw before he blacked out totally was an image of Akane, smiling and holding out the yellow roses to him.

The flowers were soaked with blood.

_Buru Street, Nerima, Tokyo_

He had been walking to the hospital, white flower in hand, when he had first felt it; the hateful glare of an enemy. Stopping in his tracks, Ranma turned to examine the crowd for the source. No one stood out. No person in ancient Chinese armor appeared, no cloaked figure popped out, no vicious animal came to challenge him. For a moment, Ranma wondered if he had simply imagined the glare; he wouldn't be surprised. The encounter with Ryoga in the hospital had left him a jittery bag of nerves.

That's when Ranma spotted him.

He was sitting at a café table with a pretty girl, his blue eyes dripping with hate. Chocolate brown hair stood up in short spikes. He looked about Ranma's age; Ranma could easily picture him going to Furinkan High. In fact, there was something about the boy that was distinctly familiar.

Seeing that Ranma had caught his gaze, the boy stood up. The girl, surprised, stood up as well and followed her boyfriend's gaze. When she saw Ranma, her mouth made a little "O".

Time seemed to slow down. All noise faded except for the beating of Ranma's heart and the forced breaths coming from the boy's lips. "What are you looking at, you goddamn fag?" The boy hissed, hate pouring off him like a waterfall.

Ranma blinked. Time had returned to normal. The sounds of modern-day Tokyo came rushing in to fill whatever silence there had been.

They were gone.

Ranma looked around, his eyes searching for the teenage couple, but there was nothing. No one. Shaking his head, Ranma massaged his head with the heels of his hands. He was beginning to imagine things. As soon as he dropped off Ryoga's flower, he should head over to Tofu's place and get some sleep. Glancing around one last time, Ranma set off for the hospital again, this time at a pace considerably faster than the walk that he had started out with.

**Author's Notes: Hello again! Sorry this chapter took so long, I was writing another fanfiction. I'll post it as soon as I'm done with Sakura Graffiti (I'm a strong believer in the policy **_**one fanfiction at a time**_**).**

**Anyways, it's almost time for the yaoi! It'll start next chapter (or maybe the chapter after? It depends). On the matter of seme/uke, it seems that Ranma as uke has been OVERWHELMINGLY chosen. So you leave me no choice; I shall have to make a compromise. **

**I love Ryoga as uke myself, but as it seems that most people prefer Ranma uke, I will do this; we will start out with one as uke, the other as seme, then over time they will switch roles. Don't like? Don't read. I'm doing this because… Well… I WANT TO ENJOY MY OWN FANFICTION TOO, DAMMIT! CAN'T I HAVE THIS ONE SMALL HAPPINESS?**

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…

…

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… **Yeah. The boy who called Ranma a fag was Ukyo. His "girlfriend" was Shampoo. Just thought I'd let you know.**


	6. Drug

_Waiting room, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

As soon as the cranky and overprotective nurse had shut the door behind her, Dr. Tofu turned to Akane, eyes shining with a strange kind of excitement.

"Akane, has anything weird pertaining to Ranma or Ryoga happened lately? For example, are there any texts about one or both of them floating around?" He asked, tapping a finger against his leg, apparently jittery with the suspense.

"Um…" Akane mumbled weakly. To be honest, Akane was totally lost. She had no idea what was going on. The fact that Ranma ran away from home after weeks of acting like a totally different person, then receiving the news that Ryoga was in the hospital due to being beaten by three teenage girls was a little too much to comprehend in one day. "Yeah… Yes! There was a rumor about Ranma that was being forwarded to all of our classmates through text."

"What did it say?" Dr. Tofu pressed.

"I don't know. I was so angry about it that I couldn't read the whole of the text." Akane shrugged. "Ranma might be a jerk and an idiot, but he is my fiancée, and we've been together through a lot. Of course I would get a little defensive of him."

"The whole of the text? Did you at least read some of it?"

Akane nodded. "It said… hmm… give me a second here… the text said 'according to anonymous sources, Ranma Saotome, age 16, is in love with another boy.' It's total trash, most likely. Why do you want to know?"

Dr. Tofu's brow furrowed, and he pinched his thumb and forefinger above the bridge of his nose. At times like these, Akane could remember why she had had a crush on him. "… Did you receive this text yourself?" Akane shook her head.

"… Could you ask one of your friends to send it to you? I want to see…" Akane gave him a weird look. Why would he want to look at that? Nevertheless, she obediently pulled out her phone and texted Hiroshi. He should be out of school by now.

_Can u give me a favor_

Akane pressed send and waited for the reply. She didn't have to wait long.

_Sure_

_ Can u fwd the txt about Ranma 2 me_

_ … Why_

_ I wanna see_

_ Sure, whatev, just don't get mad at me, im not the 1 who made it_

Akane glanced up at Dr. Tofu, smiling uncertainly. He gave her the thumbs up, and Akane was strongly reminded of a father who was supporting his daughter in a soccer tournament rather than a young doctor who had just asked one of his most frequent patients to receive a rumor about her fiancée. The phone vibrated in her hand, and Akane glanced down.

"Can you read it out loud?" Dr. Tofu asked, slightly fidgety with the built-up tension in the room. Akane was vaguely aware of the strange looks they were getting from the hospital receptionist as she began to read.

"According to anonymous sources, Ranma Saotome, age 16, is in love with another boy. I received this information from a trustworthy source in meeting at a restaurant." Dr. Tofu muttered something about cats and okonomiyaki. Akane ignored him and continued. "On the night in question, the trustworthy source and I, along with a few other witnesses, met with only business in mind.

"After exchanging prices and bargaining for information, the trustworthy source produced a stack of photos that was to go to Ranma Saotome. The photos were of his love, another man whose identity will be kept silent for the sake of his privacy.

"Most of you are probably already dismissing this as an idiot's ramble, perhaps the voice of an unpopular kid trying to overthrow Ranma's rule over Furinkan High school. I beg of you to listen. Ranma has many beautiful fiancées, and many other girls who would love to date him. Then why doesn't he go out? If you attend Furinkan High School, you know that Ranma constantly says 'I am not interested in any girls'. Don't you think that's an odd thing for a lady-killer to say? I certainly do, and the meeting with this trustworthy source was the final pushover. I beg you to think about it." Akane stopped then, her voice trailing off. She was no lover of mystery novels, but things were beginning to make sense.

"Of course… of course!" Dr. Tofu cried, dancing around the clinic as though Kasumi was there, "It all makes sense now! Ranma fell in love with Ryoga! Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi found out and tried to get rid of him! When that didn't work, one of them sent a rumor to try and make Ranma ashamed!" Dr. Tofu stopped dancing and turned to Akane. "The trustworthy source…" he said, trailing off.

"Oh, god," Akane moaned, "Its Nabiki, isn't it? Great, just brilliant. My sister is accusing my fiancée of loving Ryoga." She stopped, her eyes growing wide. "Does he… really love him?" Dr. Tofu winced. He had hoped that it wouldn't come down to this question. It was so painfully obvious that Akane really did love Ranma, and Dr. Tofu didn't want to be the one to give her the ax.

"It's possible, I suppose… though the only way to be certain would be to ask Ranma himself. This text doesn't really mean anything. It's very possible that Nabiki was lying." Akane nodded gratefully.

"… What now?" She asked, standing up and glancing over her shoulder. The receptionist looked thoroughly terrified.

"We have to find Ranma and tell him what's going on. He probably doesn't know." Dr. Tofu said heading for the door. Akane hurried after the young doctor, hoping that the receptionist didn't call the police for public disturbance.

"Do you have any ideas of where he might be?" Dr. Tofu thought of Ranma walking up to the clinic door, stricken-looking and pale.

"A few."

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ranma watched intently from his hiding spot as the doctors and nurses moved Ryoga from a stretcher to his hospital bed. Occasionally, one of the white-clad figures would fumble, and Ranma would have to suppress a gasp, but they didn't drop him.

"Poor kid," one of the nurses commented, "being beaten like this must be pretty damn scary." They had finally finished transferring Ryoga to the bed and were standing around and chatting while checking his vitals. Ranma wished they would hurry up. The air vent wasn't comfortable at all, and it was hard to breathe around the flower, which Ranma was holding in his mouth in fear it might be crushed.

"Another child abuse case?" A young man asked.

"Nah, I think it was some kind of gang. Three on one, I hear. The weirdest part was that this gang was of all girls." There were murmurs at this. While it was normal for some girls to be in gangs, a group of all girls was rare, especially ones that prayed on boys.

"I think he's good." A doctor said, checking the screen monitor. "All right!" she called, clapping her hands, "break, everyone! Let's move out!" A few of the doctors cheered as they left the room. As soon as they closed the door, Ranma pushed through the air vent and crawled onto the tile floor. The part of his brain that wasn't thinking about how it would be such a relief to go into Dr. Tofu's clinic and finally fall asleep realized how creepy this entire scene would seem to an outsider - Ranma crawling predatorily towards a peacefully sleeping Ryoga, holding a flower in his mouth.

Standing up, Ranma walked quickly over to the lost boy and sat in one of the plastic chairs. He absentmindedly began to twirl a lock of his gray-black hair around Ranma's index finger. The hospital people had obviously given Ryoga a bath, seeing as his hair was much healthier-looking than it had been the first time Ranma had seen Ryoga lying in this bed.

Ranma's hand began to move down Ryoga's neck, lingering on the collarbone for a moment before resting on his chest. His breathing was even and deep, a far cry from Ranma's slightly jagged breaths. He _knew _he shouldn't be doing this – Ryoga was asleep – but quite honestly, Ranma's brain didn't work quite right around the powerful martial artist.

Mind and stomach churning, Ranma brushed the hair back from Ryoga's forehead. He leaned in, hovering for a moment before placing his lips on Ryoga's forehead. The smooth skin was pleasantly warm against Ranma's lips, causing him to shudder slightly with constrained lust. Beneath him, Ryoga murmured something that sounded suspiciously like "Oh, Akane".

Ranma's head jerked up, heart thumping wildly. He had forgotten how much Ryoga loved his fiancée, and hearing it now was a terrible stab. Ranma would be lucky if Ryoga considered him to be a friend.

"Baka, baka, baka, baka!" Ranma hissed at himself, pressing his palms against his eyes. Remembering the flower, he turned to the table beside Ryoga's bed. There was a package holding Ryoga's clothes and a vase, already filled with water that was bursting with yellow roses. Ranma wondered how he hadn't noticed it before, though it was probably because he had been staring intently at Ryoga.

Ranma moved a few of the roses aside, and thinking that it would look pretty weird, placed his own among the others. The white petals stood out like a beacon, star-like petals circling the center of the flower almost hypnotically.

Ryoga mumbled something else, making Ranma jump. _I need to get out of here and sleep before I start hallucinating _Ranma thought, shaking his head. He shouldn't be this jumpy, and wouldn't if he wasn't bone-tired.

Ranma got up, moved around Ryoga's bed and to the windowsill. "Bye, Ryoga." He muttered, throwing the window open.

Or, at least, he tried to.

"What…?" Ranma muttered, tugging at the latch fruitlessly. "This… is… ridiculous!" Ranma threw his hands up exasperatedly. "Did they lock the windows automatically? That is so dumb! Why would they do that?" Rolling his eyes, Ranma walked to the door and tugged at the handle. Locked. Cursing under his breath, he looked down at Ryoga, who was clinging to his bed sheets.

"Now would be a really, really good time to teach me the bakusai tenketsu." Ryoga didn't reply except for to shift his weight slightly.

Ranma sighed and sat down, head in hands. "Now what… where do I sleep?" A thought crossed his mind, but Ranma pushed it away quickly. He wouldn't – _couldn't _– sleep with Ryoga, no matter how tired. Images flashed across his mind- Ranma and Ryoga sharing a tent, snuggling up against each other for warmth, taking a bath together, goofing off with each other in their dorm.

"… I suppose it couldn't hurt just this once." Ranma muttered, kicking off his shoes and slipping underneath the covers. For a moment, he considered wrapping his arms around the drugged boy, but decided against it. There was no reason to create unnecessary awkward moments.

Ranma's mind was spiraling off into a black hole already. _I hope I wake up before him, _Ranma thought dully, _or things could get weird._

_Ono Clinic, Nerima, Tokyo_

"That was a failure," Akane yawned, stretching backwards. It had been. She and Dr. Tofu had wandered throughout Nerima, looking for Ranma, but to no avail.

"He might come home tonight, you know? I mean, Ranma can't stay mad over something that trivial, can he? He's a kind of happy-go-lucky guy." Dr. Tofu said, patting Akane on the back. She sat up straighter, eyes widening.

"He was like that, until a few weeks back… Do you think it could be true? Do you think he could be in love with Ryoga?" Dr. Tofu sighed.

"Akane, we've been through this before. We won't know unless we ask Ranma, and we can't do that until we find him." Akane was ignoring him, and this time it was her who stood up and began to pace, mind bursting with ideas.

"Acting strange… strange… hiding emotions… hiding things… things… photos… photos? Photos!" Akane shrieked, turning to the door. Dr. Tofu jumped.

"What are you talking about?" He cried, apparently intimidated by Akane's outburst.

"When I walked into Ranma's room three nights ago to apologize, he was flustered and had obviously just been doing something! Do you think that he could have been looking at the photos?"

"Akane, I-"

"It makes sense! If I find the photos in Ranma's room then that's all the proof I need that Ranma loves Ryoga."

"Akane, that's not very likely…"

"So? If I don't find them, it's still a possibility. If I do – well, if I do…" she trailed off. Dr. Tofu realized that she had been pushing the possibility that Ranma loves Ryoga into the very back of her mind, a sort of thing that she would deal with when she got there.

"… Okay, but try not to destroy Ranma's room." Akane nodded, bowing to the young doctor.

"Thank you, Dr. Tofu. You've helped so much these past few days…" Akane trailed off.

"You're welcome."

"Goodbye." She said one last time, turning and walking out the door. Dr. Tofu shook his head mournfully.

"Whatever happens, I hope Akane doesn't have her heart broken."

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

_ … As his vision began to black out, he could hear the jeers of his friends and family, all calling out for him to die. He wanted to tell them to stop, but the words wouldn't come. He felt his head hit the soft blossoms. The tears were falling harder now, as though his body was determined to rid himself of the liquid before he died. Opening his mouth, Ranma could feel blood drip from his lips as he gasped his dying word._

_ "Ryoga…"_

_ "Yes?"_

_ Ranma's head jerked up, eyes widening with surprise. The scenery had not changed – the sakura trees were still in full bloom around him – but instead of seeming sinister and cruel, they were full of beauty and love. Ryoga was sitting across from him, messy black hair waving in the wind. His green eyes, usually so full of pain and sorrow, were light as a feather, filled with pure happiness. A smile was spreading across his face, a thing that Ranma had seen Ryoga perform around Akane._

_ "You're so weird Ranma," Ryoga laughed, hands clutching his knees loosely, "I mean, you looked like you needed to go to the bathroom there." All Ranma could do was glance around for Akane. She had to be around here somewhere…_

_ "Hello? Earth to Ranma!" Ryoga said crossly, crawling over to the confused boy, "Don't chicken out on me, man! You were the one who suggested this date in the first place, you know." Ranma's eyes traveled slowly back to Ryoga. It was just the two of them. There was no Akane._

_ "Ryoga?" He asked, his voice trembling slightly as his fingers began to travel across the lost boys cheek. Ryoga caught his hand and squeezed it. Ranma was startled to see tears dripping gently from Ryoga's green eyes._

_ "Yes, Ranma?"_

_ "Do… do you love me?" Ranma felt his own face become wet with the salty tears. Ryoga's hand was shuddering against his own._

_ "What do you think?" Ryoga laughed slightly. Leaning in, the beautiful boy closed his eyes and parted his lips slightly. It was almost as if he was offering a gift to Ranma, a gift that Ranma had no hesitation accepting._

**Author's Notes: … Fluffy yaoi! Lol, basically that's what this chapter was all about. I liked writing it, and I hope you liked it too 3**

**I just realized that there are 2 very big things missing from this plotline – that is, two big(ish) characters. Akari and Happosai. I know… let's make up reasons for why they're not going to appear in the plot! Happosai is… stealing exotic underwear from Taiwan? At a pervert convention? I dunno, just make something up.**

**Akari… died in a pit. I'm sorry, I just really don't like her. She's so damn annoying! Ryoga deserves so much better than her. Like me, for example (jk, jk). **

**Well… yaoi in the next chapter. Even more than in this one, which isn't really saying a lot. Whatever. I hope you enjoyed.**


	7. Secret

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ryoga felt the weight before he noticed anything else.

It was centered on his chest, slightly constricting his breathing – but not unpleasantly so. After a few moments just lying there, Ryoga realized that someone was in his tent, sleeping with him. For a crazy moment, he thought it could be Akane, and his heart began to beat like crazy. Could it be? Could it possibly be? But… no. The person's chest was far too hard and flat, and they didn't _feel _like a girl.

Cracking one eye open, Ryoga noticed one very important detail immediately - he was most definitely _not _in his tent. The room around him was a pale ivory, glowing creepily in the moonlight. Ryoga let out a long, steady breath – for some reason, his head hurt like hell – and sat up. The world spun dizzily for a moment before settling into place.

Ryoga was in a hospital room, window uncovered to reveal a fat moon hanging in the sky. The bed – more of a cot, really – was made of metal and obviously not built for comfort. The person lying atop him has slipped off his chest and to a, err, private spot, and all Ryoga was wearing was a thin gown. Blushing, Ryoga slipped out of the bed with more grace than he thought his steady frame had and turned to look at the offending bed-intruder. Ryoga knew who it was immediately – Ranma's handsome face was held perfectly by the white light, making him seem more innocent than he was. Ryoga would wake him up to fight, but honestly, Ryoga wasn't feeling up to it. His headache had gotten worse from standing, and his legs were threatening to fold. Ryoga had no idea what was wrong with him – he couldn't remember why he was in here in the first place.

Realizing that standing in front of his archrival and staring into his face was probably not the most productive thing he could do, Ryoga turned around, and almost tripped over a metal desk. Grabbing onto the headboard to steady himself, Ryoga examined the things it held. The first thing his eyes alighted on was a package of clothing, and after a quick check, Ryoga confirmed it was his. Relief washed over him. He couldn't remember the number of times where Ryoga had lost his clothes – and it was not an experience he would prefer to repeat.

The second object was much taller than the package, so it took a moment for Ryoga's tired eyes to travel up the curved length of the vase. As soon as he saw the yellow roses, a light went off in Ryoga's mind. Images blurred across each other – being beaten in the alleyway, a woman calling the police, rushing to the hospital, the beeps of the heart monitor, Ranma pulling him into an embrace, Akane standing in the doorway, the cries of the nurse as she pressed the button. Suddenly, Ryoga looked at Ranma in a whole new light. He had come back to Ryoga's room – but why? It wasn't like Ranma to keep his word on something as simple as this. And why had Ranma run away from home? Genma had said it was because he was an ungrateful brat, but Ryoga knew there had to be some kind of reasoning behind it.

Ryoga pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes and moaned softly. He could have imagined it, but Ryoga could have sworn he saw Ranma shiver slightly at the sound. He was just so tired – the drugs the nurse had given him seemed to be taking their toll.

_I should get changed into my regular clothes and then get back into bed, Ranma or no Ranma, _Ryoga thought groggily, letting the gown slip off his shoulders and fall to the floor. Ranma made a noise behind him, and Ryoga jumped. It almost sounded like Ranma was moaning in pleasure, a noise that is not exactly comforting when you're trying to change. Shaking off the thought, Ryoga grabbed the pack and ripped it open. As he changed, his mind wandered back to Akane. She had seemed so confused when they had seen each other. He wondered if she had figured anything out. For both their sakes, he hoped she had.

At last, Ryoga tied the bandannas around his forehead, and turned back to the bed where Ranma was sleeping peacefully. No more noises. Yawning, Ryoga walked over and slipped back underneath the covers. For a moment, he considered pushing Ranma off the bed, but quickly decided against it. It would surely cause a scuffle when Ranma awoke, and as he had said before, Ryoga was in no shape for a fight. Besides, Ranma created a nice warmer for the otherwise cold room. Flipping his head around, Ryoga began to close his eyes when he saw a flash of white.

Immediately, Ryoga was out of the bed and over to the table, tiredness forgotten. Among the yellow roses was a white star-shaped flower that he hadn't noticed before. It was quite lovely, strange beauty standing out among the standard build of the roses. Ryoga realized it had to be from Ranma – he had promised to get him something, after all, though why he would chose a flower like this was beyond Ryoga. Ranma was more of an "it doesn't really matter what kind, as long as you have some" kind of guy, and it seemed there was a lot of thought put into that single white flower.

Ryoga frowned. He had always considered himself to be a bit of a romantic, and knew more meanings behind flowers than most people realized existed. Of course, this only works if you know the kind of flower you were looking at was, and Ryoga honestly could not recognize it. He had seen the flower before and felt stupid for forgetting.

"Gray, no, grace… graceling? No, gen… maybe gren…" Ryoga continued to mutter to himself as Ranma mumbled something in his sleep. If Ryoga had been paying attention, he might have recognized his own name among the jumble of sleep noises.

"… Garen? No, that's not even a word… I _know _it starts with a 'g'…! I think… yeah! That has to be it! It's a-"

_Tendo Dojo, Nerima, Tokyo_

Akane ignored the muffled cries from the now panda-form Genma as she rifled through Ranma's small dresser drawer. So far, she had only managed to find Chinese clothes and boxers, along with making Ranma's father very, very annoyed by dragging him out of bed and turning him into a panda so he wouldn't wake the others. The last thing Akane needed right now was a curious father poking into her business.

Technically, if anyone was the nosy snoop, it was Akane. She paused for a second, considering the weight of what she was actually doing. Digging through her fiancées clothes on a blind hope that the object she was looking for would turn up wasn't very considerate of Ranma's feelings. Akane could almost see him then, standing over her, scolding Akane with his arrogant tone.

But the new Ranma wouldn't do that. The new Ranma barely had enough willpower to drag himself out of bed every day.

Akane continued her search with a new fever, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. It was doubtful that this plan of hers would actually yield results – her entire idea was based off of wishful thinking and the word of a gossip – but if something did turn up, she would know the truth for sure.

That Ranma really did love another man.

"Shoot… I can't find anything." Akane growled, tossing a pair of blue boxers over her shoulder. "Maybe I should just give up. It's not like I really expected to find anything…" She trailed off. Akane had been so sure that she was right, so sure that her theory was correct, that it was a great disappointment to her.

Akane sighed, standing up. It seemed that investigative skills were not her forte, even if she did consider herself to be smarter than most people she knew. "Whatever…" she murmured, walking past the bed and resting her hand on the door frame.

_The bed!_

It came to her, a bolt from the blue. Of course! She had totally forgotten about the bed! Turning quickly, she dropped to her knees once again and began to viciously ransack Ranma's bed. Genma began to bang against the door desperately, trying to get her to stop. Akane felt sweat drip down her neck. She didn't have long until her family came rushing to see what the commotion was.

Flipping the pillowcase upside-down and shaking, Akane almost missed the small white box fall out. Almost. Throwing the pillow away, she grabbed the box and held it up to her face, hands trembling. The box was the perfect size for photos. Suddenly, Akane was afraid. Here was the evidence that she had been searching for, the photos that would turn the tides in this war. Why was she afraid to open it?

_Because I'm afraid I'll lose,_ Akane answered her own question. Oblivious of the pounding footsteps emanating from outside, she opened the box tenderly, as if she was afraid it would blow up in her face. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened.

"I guess Dr. Tofu was right about Ryoga," she whispered, and the door broke down.

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

_ Ryoga's hands dragged across the silken sheets of the large bed, causing Ranma to tremble with constraint. It really was getting harder and harder to resist his bright green eyes, his perfect lips, the way he moaned when Ranma kissed him._

_ Ranma paused, his hands hovering uncertainly over the twin black straps that held Ryoga's yellow shirt closed. He wasn't sure when the setting had changed from the Sakura park to this luxuriant hotel suite bedroom, but one thing was obvious – where the setting wanted him to go with the lost boy._

_ "Ra-Ranma," Ryoga gasped beneath him. He obviously wanted him to continue… but did he really? Ranma sat up, causing cries of both misery and annoyance from Ryoga. There was something wrong with this situation. Ranma knew that he should just ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach and just enjoy this one special moment, but the feeling was ruining the mood and making Ranma squirm with guilt over what they were doing. It seemed as though he were trying to take advantage of Ryoga, something that he thought was detestable, worthy only of perverted freaks like Kuno._

_ "Don't leave," he heard Ryoga mutter, halfway between helplessness and stubbornness, "… just don't leave me alone. I'm so… I'm so sick of being alone." Startled, Ranma looked down on Ryoga. His features were set in a determined scowl of sorts that was not half as bad as the dirty looks he was so fond of giving Ranma. The effect was even more ruined by the fact that two thin tear lines were falling gently from his eyes._

_ "I wasn't leaving," Ranma murmured, making up his mind and laying back down. "I was just… thinking. You can stop crying now." Ryoga made an indignant noise._

_ "It's your fault I'm this upset… you haven't exactly been the nicest to me, you know." Ryoga muttered, twirling Ranma's pigtail around his index finger. Ranma, getting the message, began to pull apart the black straps that were the only obstacle between Ranma and Ryoga._

_ "I know… that's why I'm making it up to you now," Ranma said, letting Ryoga's shirt flop open. The lost boy squirmed slightly as the cool air hit his chest, but otherwise didn't protest. By now, Ranma was shuddering uncontrollably, and if he didn't do something to quench his thirst soon, he would snap. Ranma began to unbutton his own shirt, cursing for the first time that he even wore these pointlessly hard to undo shirt. The loops that held the buttons together were smaller than the actual buttons themselves, and it didn't help that Ranma was still trembling. Ryoga, seeing how much trouble Ranma was having with the simple task, laughed gently and raised his hands to help. _

_ Suddenly, Ryoga sat up and pushed a very startled Ranma aside. "- Gardenia!" he exclaimed, standing and beginning to pace around the room. "I knew it started with a 'g'… I wonder why that particular flower… Ranma never really seemed the sentimental type… now if I could only remember what it meant…" Ranma gave a start. Ryoga had completely forgotten that he was in the room._

_ "Huh…well Ranma probably doesn't know what it means… if he doesn't know, then I don't need to worry about secret meaning or whatever…" Ranma was dumbfounded. It was as if Ryoga had forgotten all about what he was doing and started preaching to the wall about something that Ranma was lost on. Ranma blinked-_

_- _and blinked again.

It took a moment for Ranma's vision to adjust to the semi-darkness. Ryoga was standing in front of a metal desk, holding a white flower up to his vision. Ranma realized with a slight shock that it was _his _flower that Ryoga was holding. The nonsensical speech Ryoga was giving in his dream suddenly made sense. Ryoga wanted to know the kind of flower that Ranma had given him, a gardenia apparently. Ranma had no idea what a gardenia was, but he trusted Ryoga on his analysis.

"Should you be walking?" Ranma asked, causing Ryoga to start. When he saw that Ranma was awake, he relaxed slightly.

"If I can walk, I will." Ryoga snapped. Ranma was suddenly nostalgic for the sweet uke Ryoga in his dreams. At least the dream-Ryoga didn't get defensive and depressed every time Ranma entered a 100 yard perimeter.

"Yeah, but what if you were supposed to have therapy and you weren't supposed to walk…" Ranma trailed off; courtesy of the dirty look Ryoga was giving him.

"You slam me against walls, crush me under landslides, push me off cliffs, and yet you worry that I'll mess my body up by walking when I've just gone through therapy that I wouldn't have gotten if that lady hadn't bothered to call the police? That seems pretty hypocritical, if you ask me." Obviously, Ryoga had forgotten all about forgiving Ranma. To tell the truth, Ranma wasn't surprised. It was hard to get people to forgive years of pain and suffering just by saying "I'm sorry".

"What? You don't have any response?" Ryoga asked, a smile beginning to twitch at the edges of his lips. It hurt Ranma to see Ryoga smile like that, especially after a glimpse of Ryoga's true smile in his dreams. "I guess not," Ryoga said, after another long silence.

"Ryoga…" Ranma murmured, his voice wavering slightly. Ryoga blinked in shock at the tremble in Ranma's voice, and for a moment, he thought he saw pity in Ryoga's green eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of hating?" At that, Ryoga's jaw dropped halfway, revealing his sharp fangs, and his eyes grew even wider. It would have been comical, but the serious mood in the air erased all air of silliness.

After a few moments of just looking at each other like that, Ryoga closed his mouth and straightened slightly. "I guess so, yeah," he growled, "but then you come along and do something that makes me hate you all over again." For a moment, Ranma allowed himself to replace the word "hate" with "love".

"… I didn't realize…" Ranma muttered, instantly appalled with himself. He knew perfectly well how he hurt Ryoga. Why was he lying?

"Sure, whatever," Ryoga said, not really paying attention to Ranma. Ranma saw Ryoga lean over, and with a small surprise realized that Ryoga was placing the gardenia back in the vase filled with yellow roses. _Of course,_ Ranma realized, _Ryoga isn't so petty that he would destroy a gift from me even if he didn't like the person who had given it to him. Why am I acting so stupidly? _A vision of Ranma kissing Ryoga's forehead came to Ranma, causing a blush to creep across his face.

"Are you going to lie down or what?" Ryoga asked annoyance evident in his voice. Startled, Ranma looked up to see Ryoga giving Ranma a 'moving down' gesture with his hands while simultaneously sitting on the bed.

"Wh-what? Why? I mean, it's your stretcher thing…" Ranma mumbled, blushing even deeper. He hoped that the poor light would conceal his darkening face. Ryoga gave him a strange look before picking up the covers and sliding underneath them.

"You were the one who crawled into my bed in the first place, you know." Ryoga said, "Now scoot over. Just because we're sharing doesn't mean I want you on top of me again." About twenty questions popped up in Ranma's mind, but only one managed to get out.

"You-you don't mind if we sleep together?"

"Of course not, duh. I mean, we've done it before. And besides, you're warm, and I like the feeling of someone next to me." Ryoga closed his eyes, and Ranma was strongly reminded of his dream, how Ryoga didn't want to be alone anymore. "No more stupid questions," Ryoga murmured, snuggling up to the still upright Ranma, "because I think you already know the answer to all of them."

_Aoi Okanao's Flower Shop, Nerima, Tokyo_

The abandoned flower shop seemed almost ghostly in the moonlight, the flowers edged with beautiful silver moonlight.

_Chrysanthemum – truth _

_ Cosmos – peaceful _

A dictionary of flower meanings and names lay open next to the cash register.

_Crocus – foresight _

_ Daffodil – chivalry _

Somewhere in his apartment, an old man lay thinking of the young boy who had come into the flower shop, lost and frustrated.

_Delphinium – boldness _

_ Daisy – innocence _

He smiled, remembering the boy's denial that he loved someone, remembering how he pretended it was a girl that he was in love with, remembering how easily he had taken the gardenia.

_Freesia – spirited _

_ Forget-me-not – remember me forever_

Remembering the wistfulness.

_Gardenia – secret love_

**Author's Notes: I have put in a plan that I will try to update every Friday night or Saturday morning/afternoon. Of course this won't always work, especially seeing as homework levels differ, and I have a final coming up, but this is going to be my goal. Please don't get mad at me if I don't always achieve it d(^_^)b**

**How many of you knew the flower was a gardenia? *raises hand* oh, wait, I'm the author… hehe…**

**OMG, THE RANRYO FLUFFINESS!**

**.com/watch?NR=1&v=WZuDTRnpTaI&feature=endscreen**

**This was the longest chapter yet, yay! **


	8. One

_Tendo Dojo, Nerima, Tokyo_

Akane stared up at the assembled group with a mixed expression of surprise and horror. There had been no time to hide the photos, and the box lay open in her hands, the contents visible to any who bothered looking. Thankfully, for the time being, all eyes were focused on her.

She had been rifling through Ranma's room, looking for the evidence that would change the game when her family had heard the angrily grunting Genma (she had locked him outside for good measure) and came running.

Nabiki was the first one to recover her wits. "Where were you, sis?" she asked, "We were beginning to worry about you. I mean, first Ranma runs away and then you go missing after we leave the hospital. What's up?"

"I… uh…" suddenly, Akane was very hesitant to tell them about Dr. Tofu's theory and the photos that she was holding tightly. Thinking quickly, Akane waved her hand in the air as she closed the box and slid it behind her like the most practiced magician. "Sorry about that. Dr. Tofu just wanted me to help out with some stuff at the clinic. You know disorganized he gets sometimes." Even Genma, who had limited amounts of facial expression, looked skeptical at this. Everyone knew how bad Akane was at housework and cleaning.

"M-hm. Why are you in Ranma's room then, instead of your own bedroom?" Nabiki asked, crossing her arms. Soun nodded unconsciously, and Genma pulled out a wooden sign reading _And why were you digging through his stuff? _Akane gulped internally, her mind racing for options. After going through the list, she realized that there was only one course of action. She dropped her heads into her hands and began to fake crying noises.

"I-I'm so sorry, it's just I-I was s-so worried about R-Ranma who's all a-alone by himself, and I… I was lo-looking for the s-stupid idiot… I-I couldn't find him, and-and I thought that I-I should b-bring s-some of his s-stuff next t-time I look in case I f-find him, be-because it's r-really cold out there b-being spring and all…" Akane trailed off, apparently so overcome by emotion that she couldn't speak anymore. She heard footsteps as her family came up to comfort her, even felt a hand placed on her back.

"It's all right, Akane," Soun said gently, "it's perfectly normal for you to be worried about your fiancée." Akane could hear the triumph in his voice, underneath the layers of sympathy and worry. Of course Soun and Genma would treat this like a victory in the endless wars of her engagement. Acting this way was tantamount to saying "I love Ranma". It didn't matter. Sacrifices had to be made in the game of life, and this was one that Akane was positive would lead nowhere. Especially not in the round they were playing right now. However, that didn't mean that caution was to be ignored. Ever since Ranma had come into her life, Akane had been through countless trials and hardships, but this was perhaps the most dangerous situation yet. Seeing as the enemies wanted more than just pride or revenge.

This was true war, fought over the assumptions and blackmail of her older sister.

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

_ Ryoga was too young._

_ If only he had been a little older, he could have lifted the heavy building debris from his trembling shoulders and walked away scared but unscathed, but he was stuck with the pre-teen body that was almost completely useless in this situation. A normal person would have died long before, but Ryoga was no normal person, a fact he was aware of far too painfully._

_ As he shifted his weight in hopes of better holding the giant brick wall and heavy boards, Ryoga thought about his life so far in terms of what he had accomplished. It was a short list. He had managed to live this long, a feat for someone with his disease, and he had managed to save several people. However, none of the victims had ever thanked him, too terrified by the strength hidden in his frail body. Ryoga wondered absentmindedly if the rescuers would be afraid of him too. Then he wondered if he would live long enough to see them. Seeing as how his entire body was shaking under the intense pressure and how his breath came in short, shallow gasps, probably not._

_ As Ryoga leaned closer to the floor by one more vertebrate, a grim thought crossed his mind. How many had already died? Surely a police department collapsing wouldn't leave everyone in the space unhurt. Or maybe he was the only one destined to die this day. With his luck, he wouldn't be surprised. Grimacing, Ryoga sank from standing on his knees to sitting, his legs sprawled awkwardly sideways. Ryoga wished it would just end already. His body was already starting to feel numb from pain overload. Maybe he should just let himself die, just stop trying to hold the combined weight of two stories worth brick wall up. But no, Ryoga couldn't bring himself to stop trying to live._

_ The darkness around him shifted, and Ryoga glanced up for a second. Everything was moving, he realized, even the brick wall on his back. For a moment, he thought that it was being dragged away, that he was being freed of the weight. A crunching sound came from behind him, and Ryoga realized with a certain amount of horror that one of the supporting beams that had held up the building was falling down, probably being the last one standing. It creaked ominously, and Ryoga knew that it was going to fall on top of him._

This can't be happening,_ Ryoga thought, _I don't want to die. I don't want to._ It was one thing to think about dying, but quite another to know that your life was to end in a few more seconds. _Please,_ he thought desperately, the beam whistling loudly through the air,_ I can't die. Not like this… not now… not without…

_Tendo Dojo, Nerima, Tokyo_

Nabiki knew that it was Akane standing in the doorway before she even turned around. Picking at a wallet stuffed to the full capacity of yen bills, she murmured "You're up early, sis. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm here to ask you a few questions." Akane said to Nabiki's back. She had still refused to turn and look at her sister.

"What kind of questions?" Nabiki asked, snapping the wallet open and expertly thumbing through the thin paper that was her life.

"Don't play innocent, Nabiki. It doesn't suit you." Akane growled, anger evident in her voice. Nabiki swiveled her head around, short hair flipping through the air. In truth, Nabiki had been expecting this ever since the banging noises came from Ranma's room. Her suspicions had been confirmed when she saw the ruined room and the box of photos in her little sister's hands. Not everyone in her family was a complete idiot, after all.

"You want to know about the photos, right?" the extortionist asked, turning back to the wallet to place the bills back inside. No need for them to get unnecessarily rumpled.

"Those, and more."

"Very well. Usually, I would charge for questions, but seeing as this situation is probably my fault, I'll be generous and say you can ask away."

"When… no, how did you find out that Ranma loves Ryoga?" Akane asked. Nabiki looked up sharply, eyes narrowed.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Nabiki asked, suspicion evident in her voice. She had turned around fully to face her sister, wallet forgotten.

"Two and two makes four. Anyways, I'm the one asking the questions, not you." Akane said, crossing her arms and deciding not to mention Dr. Tofu, just in case Nabiki blackmailed him later. Akane wouldn't stand for that kind of nonsense, but Dr. Tofu wasn't exactly the strongest when it came to the Tendo sisters.

Nabiki shrugged. "I'll take your word for it. Anyways, I found out via Ranma's diary, or journal as I'm sure he would prefer me to call it." Akane frowned. She hadn't found a journal or diary of any sort, and she had practically ransacked his room. Nabiki, noticing her confused expression, added "He probably threw it away after I found it. If anyone else had figured out his little 'secret', he probably would have died of shame. I feel kind of bad for him sometimes."

"You blackmailed him didn't you? How much did he have to pay to keep you quiet?" Akane asked, sighing at her sisters' obsession.

"It was only ¥1,000 a week. I let him off easy. Oh, come on, don't give me that look." Akane was glaring at her sister, annoyance all over her face.

"Fine, whatever… Anyways, who did you tell Ranma's secret to?"

"Shampoo, Cologne and Mousse. They called the dojo when you weren't home and asked if they could have an appointment with me. They said it was urgent. I guess they were at the end of their rope. I mean, six months at a complete relationship standby? This is just ridiculous." Nabiki paused, her brow slightly creased. "I suppose that should have been a 'was'. It seems as though things are finally nearing an end. Thank god." She sighed and lay back down on her bed. "Any more questions?"

Akane thought about it. "… Do you think it is right to hate Ranma because he might be gay?" Nabiki looked up again.

"Why? Do you hate him for that?"

"No… it's just that there have been a lot of mean rumors flying around about Ranma… all of them are about his sexuality. So… I guess if he's gay… no, because he's gay, is it right that people hate him because he's so popular with the ladies and he's not interested?" Akane was backing off now, hand resting on the doorknob. "Because I don't think it's right. And I don't think what you did was right, either." Then Akane was gone, leaving the door open as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom door. As Nabiki heard her open the door, she chuckled softly so Akane wouldn't hear.

"Akane… I just began the end. That's all I did. That's all I do."

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ranma woke up when he heard Ryoga cry out from behind him.

It was very early in the morning, and the moon was almost gone. Rubbing his eyes, Ranma looked down at the lost boy. Ranma was immediately glad that he had woken up first – yet again, Ranma had somehow managed to migrate on top of Ryoga. Sliding off, Ranma leaned over to look at Ryoga. He was unusually pale, except for two bright red suns on his cheeks, and his breath was coming in small gasps. For a horrible moment Ranma thought that Ryoga was sick or that his injuries had gotten infected and were making him this way. Then as Ryoga grabbed the sheets and whimpered again, Ranma realized that Ryoga was having a nightmare. Before his brain could protest otherwise, Ranma wrapped his arms around Ryoga's quivering form and buried his face in Ryoga's hair. After a moment, Ryoga returned the hug, clutching tightly to Ranma's back. Ranma reflected on how this was probably one of the very few opportunities that he would ever get to be this close to Ryoga. When they weren't fighting each other, they were fighting someone else. There was no real room for friendship – or more – in their relationship. Sometimes Ranma wished he could start over, leave the mess that had become his life behind. Run away to a boarding school, get a girlfriend, go to college… forget he was ever a martial artist engaged to at least four different girls. But he couldn't, because that would mean leaving Ryoga behind too.

Truth be told, Ryoga was the only guy Ranma had ever fallen in love with. He had considered himself to be perfectly straight… then he started looking at his rival in a different light. At first it was just a simple glance at him, the way his green eyes flashed in the sunlight, the way his short black hair waved in the breeze. Ranma had passed it off as appreciation for his friend, nothing more.

Then Ranma had started noticing other things. The way Ryoga's hips moved when he walked, the way he kicked with a completely straight leg, the way he licked his lips when he was thinking, the thinness of his neck. By that time, Ranma had begun to worry about his newfound obsession with his rival, his friend, another boy.

So when Ranma felt his hear beat faster every time he heard Ryoga's name, every time he saw someone who looked like him, every time he closed his eyes and found Ryoga there in his dreams, when he finally realized that what he felt was beyond anything he had ever felt about Akane or any of his other fiancées, he wasn't so surprised as to rock the foundations of his world.

At first, he was happy about being in love. He was happy that he didn't have to decide who he loved, who he wanted to marry. He was happy that his heart had chosen for him, even though it wasn't from the options listed.

Then he began to realize how serious the situation was. How if he ever did confess, the Tendo's would kick him out, the Amazons would chase him down, how his fiancées would hurt Ryoga, how his mother would try to kill him.

And Ryoga would hate him.

Ranma sighed, burying his face deeper in Ryoga's dark hair. Whatever shampoo the hospital had used to clean Ryoga up smelled nice, a mix of tangerines and lemon cake. As Ranma inhaled deeper, he smelled other things that were definitely not the shampoo. Pine needles and desert rain, mint and rosemary, city fumes and instant ramen. Ranma wondered absentmindedly how Ryoga could smell so wonderful with smells that shouldn't go together but did.

Ryoga made a particularly loud choking noise that startled Ranma out of his fantasy. Looking down on the lost boy, Ranma realized that the dream had to be reaching its climax. Two tear lines were trickling thinly down Ryoga's cheeks, and Ranma was struck by how similar Ryoga had looked in his dream. Though in the dream Ryoga hadn't been in terrible pain.

"Shh…" Ranma muttered automatically, as one might say to a small child. He hugged Ryoga closer, for all the good that would do.

As it turned out, it did a bit more good than Ranma had expected. Ryoga, finally reaching the worst part, screamed into Ranma's chest, muffling the sound. Even so, it was still heart-wrenching to hear such a sound come from Ryoga's lips.

Ryoga wrenched away from Ranma, his eyes open and wild with fear. "St-stay away!" Ryoga gasped, attempting to bury himself in the bedcovers. Ranma ignored him, snatching Ryoga's arm and pulling him back up.

"Calm down," Ranma said, holding Ryoga's shoulders and staring into the lost boy's face, "it's okay. You've had a nightmare. Ryoga tried to push away, turning his face away.

"Leave me alone! Just go away!" Ryoga growled, pressing firmly on Ranma's chest in an attempt to escape. Ranma wasn't having any of it. He held on, wondering what it must be like to deal with nightmares by yourself where no one can hear your screams.

"Ryoga, I'm just here to calm you down, I promise I won't-" Ryoga cut him off by covering his mouth with one of his hands and pressing firmly. Ranma brushed his hand and grabbed it tightly, doing the same with the other. Ryoga looked at Ranma and tried to wrench them away.

"Let go-!" Ryoga hissed, green eyes filled with anger and shame.

"Calm down, please…"

"You jerk! Just leave me alone… I can handle this by myself! I've had these stupid dreams before, just leave me alone! I don't need you here to make fun of me for being so weak, okay?" Ryoga was desperate now, thrashing against Ranma's tight grip. Ranma still wasn't listening, and he dragging Ryoga closer in an attempt to settle the lost boy.

"I'm not making fun of you, I promise. I won't tell anyone…" Ranma grunted, still trying to pull Ryoga to him. They were close now, only half a foot separating their bodies.

"You liar! When have you ever kept your promises, eh?"

"Ryoga…"

"I told you, I can handle this alone! Just leave me be!"

"Ryoga-!"

"…!"

_Ward 5-A, Tokai University Hospital, Nerima, Tokyo_

Silence.

That was what had filled Ryoga up, the intense silence of nothing happening, of the absence of movement. All he could hear was the silence clogging his ears, all he could see was the silence of his own closed eyes, all he could feel was the silence of Ranma's lips pressed fiercely against his. His own body was limp from shock; the only way that he was still sitting up was because of Ranma's arms wrapped around him. His mind was completely still too, not able to really process what was happening. All Ryoga could do was sit there and let Ranma kiss him.

The feeling seemed to be lasting forever; when Ranma finally let go of Ryoga and lay him back down on the bed as though Ryoga were made of china, Ryoga felt as though he had aged several years in the span of a few deep breaths.

Eyes still closed, Ryoga could feel the bed shift underneath him as Ranma moved closer to him, gently pressing another kiss to Ryoga's forehead. "It's okay," he heard Ranma murmur; "you don't have to be alone anymore."

_Lies._

Ryoga's eyes flew open, settling directly on Ranma's back. Ranma was getting off the bed, moving towards the plastic chair in the corner. Sitting up, Ryoga touched Ranma's shoulder. Surprised, Ranma turned around and looked at the lost boy.

"You…" Ryoga whispered, images flashing through his mind. He could see Ranma yanking him forward, taking his lips for his own, possessively raking his hands down Ryoga's back until he found a spot to just hold on. Unconsciously, Ryoga reached up and touched Ranma's cheek. "You…!" Ryoga said again, more images flashing through his mind. Ranma and Akane walking together, holding hands, Ranma sitting beside Akane on a park bench, her head on his shoulders, Ranma choking down Akane's cooking just so his fiancée would be happy. The hand on Ranma's cheek had begun to tremble violently. Ranma looked confused, his blue eyes widening as Ryoga's green ones grew narrower and narrower.

"You… BASTARD!" Ryoga screamed, all pretenses of silence gone. He slapped Ranma violently across the face, leaving a red mark and a stunned look. Bringing the same hand around, Ryoga slammed Ranma in the stomach as hard as he could. Ranma fell off the bed, scrambling up and backing off as Ryoga began to walk towards him, a murderous look in his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Ryoga yelled, taking another swipe at Ranma, who barely managed to dodge it, "Why would you kiss me when you already have Akane? Do you want me too, huh? You just want the whole damn world! Well, I'm sick of seeing you switching between girls like a kid switches ice cream flavors, and I'm not going to be part of that! I love Akane, but I know she'll never love me back, so I gave up a long time ago!" By now, Ryoga was crying hard, tears dripping onto the floor as he attacked Ranma. "But you have so many girls who love you, and yet you can't seem to choose one! You are always using your charm to get what you want, and now you're trying to get me in this too! You want me to be your mindless lap dog, don't you? Well, I'm not going to fall for that, I don't care how good-looking you are in either form!" Ranma was cornered, back pressed against the locked window. As Ryoga threw another punch, Ranma automatically ducked. There was a crashing sound and Ranma felt glass shards rain down on him. He felt his heart thud and looked up just in time to see Ryoga hit him in the stomach. Ranma felt something drip onto his shirt, and on looking down was horrified to see blood dripping from Ryoga's hand.

"Ryoga…" he gasped, all air having been driven from his lungs, "Y-you're hurt…" Ryoga blinked in surprise and backed off, looking in slight disbelief at his bleeding hand. "You should get someone to bandage that up for you," Ranma murmured, standing slowly. Looking at Ryoga, he gave a start to see that Ryoga was laughing silently, tears and blood forming in small puddles underneath him.

"… Leave. Go away, Ranma." Ryoga said softly, green eyes meeting Ranma. He was still shaking with laughter.

"But…"

"I said leave. Why don't you prove that you can do something right for once? Leave." Ranma realized how idiotic he had been. Of course Ryoga would hate him for this. He had known it from the very beginning. Why did he have to go and kiss him? But it was too late for that now.

Ranma crawled out of the window slowly, careful to step over the glass shards. His eyes never left Ryoga's. "Just so you know…" Ranma said, backlight by the moonlight, "If I had to choose who to marry from all the fiancées I have gained… I would pick you." And he was gone, leaving Ryoga to once again stand in his own blood and tears.

**Author's Notes: Yeah, I was a little late on this one, but that's probably because the word count was nearing 3,700. They just keep getting longer and longer, don't they? Well, I know I'm having a good time writing it. I hope you like reading it.**

**So, Ryoga's first kiss was with Ranma. Apparently, he's a bit upset by that, lol. If you were a little confused with that nightmare scene, the thing is Ryoga's ashamed that he showed such weakness in front of his rival, and he's afraid that Ranma's going to make fun of him for that. Don't worry, that scene was pretty confusing, even for me.**

**Angsty much?**


	9. Force

_Keiji Street, Nerima, Tokyo_

The hot sun beat down on the top of Ryoga's head, making him wish that he had his umbrella with him. However, the parasol was back at the hospital, and Ryoga had jumped out his ward window the moment Ranma disappeared from sight, and there was no way Ryoga was going to find his way back to the building by the end of the day.

An image of Ranma hovering over him with a concerned expression on his face came to Ryoga, and he pushed it away with a scowl. When disasters happened, it was best not to dwell on them, but for some reason Ryoga couldn't stop remembering how Ranma had seemed so… genuine. Usually, everything was hidden behind a smirk and a stupid comment that made Ryoga blow his top and begin attacking Ranma, but the way his blue eyes had been so full of such emotion as to make Ryoga's heart tremble… that was unforgettable, much to the dismay of a certain lost boy who was all too eager to forget the feeling of another male's lips against his own. At least the other times Ranma had tried to kiss him, he was in his girl form, which _almost_ normal_. _Then again, what was normal in a world that turned you into a pig half the time?

Ryoga could feel the policeman's eyes on him as he crossed Keiji and turned onto Shin Puroshia. It wasn't a new feeling – people were naturally suspicious of the lost boy. Still, it was unnerving feeling. Especially the way that this particular policeman was eyeing him, like he wanted to strangle Ryoga…

"Excuse me, sir!" the policeman called, walking through crowds of people and stopping in front of Ryoga. The lost boy felt his stomach drop. Policemen rarely stopped him, but when they did, it was never good news for anyone… especially not the policeman.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Ryoga asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. He hadn't done anything wrong, right? He was just walking down the street…

"Um, you're bleeding," the officer said, pointing to Ryoga's hand. Ryoga looked down in surprise. The crimson liquid was dripping through his fingers, and upon opening his hand, Ryoga saw that his cut from punching through the hospital window had re-opened.

_What? _Ryoga thought, looking mystified as he examined the wound, _I'm sure that the cut had stopped bleeding a while ago. Why would it re-open? _

As Ryoga was contemplating the cut, the police officer cocked his head to one side before firmly clutching Ryoga's arm. Ryoga looked up in surprise.

"Uh, sir? What are you doing?" The lost boy asked, confusion written all over his face. The officer smiled, and shivers ran down Ryoga's back. Something about this man seemed off, and it was making Ryoga's heart speed up.

"Well, we can't have you bleeding all over the place, right? That cut looks pretty deep. I was just going to escort you to the nearest hospital. They will be able to stitch you right up." The man's smile widened. By now, Ryoga was thoroughly freaked out. He tried to wrench his arm away from the officer, but the man held firmly on.

_How strong is this guy? _Ryoga thought, attempting to wrench away again. A few people glanced his way, but no one ran to his aid. Did they think he was being arrested? Ryoga wasn't sure, but he knew that if he couldn't pull out of the guys grip in about five seconds, he was going to take a chance and punch the policeman in the face.

"Stop struggling!" The man commanded, reaching out and grabbing Ryoga's other arm, as if he knew what Ryoga was thinking. Ryoga yelped. Why was this man being so rough with him? He hadn't done anything wrong! A thought crossed his mind, but Ryoga pushed it away. Surely not… not in broad daylight… and the man was a police officer…

People were really starting to look now, eyes glancing uncertainly at Ryoga as he struggled desperately against the man. A few people pulled out their phones, but instead of calling for help, they began to take video and pictures.

"Please sir, what did I do wrong? Please let go!" Ryoga said, loud enough for the phones to pick up, just in case. The man ignored him, giving his arm a sharp tug and almost making Ryoga fall over. Either the man was incredibly strong, stronger than Ryoga, or Ryoga was still weak from the drugs the hospital gave him. Either way, Ryoga was starting to seriously panic. He had done nothing wrong, and yet this man was harassing him.

The police officer gave another sharp tug, and this time Ryoga found himself on the ground. He could feel his body tremble under the strain. Obviously the attack by the three fiancées had done more damage than he thought. When the officer stood him up, Ryoga's vision was hazy, and he could barely hear the whispers of the bystanders as he was led to the curb and shoved into the police car. The last thing he heard was the policeman chuckle darkly as he closed the door and started the ignition.

_Ono Clinic, Nerima, Tokyo_

Akane stood in front of the glass sliding door, shifting from one foot to the other. In her hands, she held a basket filled with cookies. They weren't her own creation – she had decided that now was not the best time to try out new recipes.

The door slid open, and Dr. Tofu stood in the frame. He looked pleased, and confused. "Akane," he said, "aren't you supposed to be in school?" Akane shrugged.

"I don't know whether I'm 'supposed' to be there. My dad let me stay home today because I was 'too upset by my fiancée running away to be able to concentrate'." Akane stated nonchalantly. Dr. Tofu frowned.

"You shouldn't do that Akane. You know as well as I do that you aren't concerned about Ranma. Okay, maybe a little, but you know he's a big boy. He can take care of himself. Maybe." Dr. Tofu sighed, gesturing Akane to follow him inside. She did, skipping over the door frame and sitting in one of the waiting room couches. "I suppose it's fine if you stay here for a while," Dr. Tofu murmured, almost to himself, "I don't have much traffic on Wednesdays." He turned his eyes to Akane, and his next words seemed pointedly directed at her. "In fact, I only have one 'patient' right now. I think he would appreciate if you talked to him." With that, he turned away.

Akane immediately got what he meant. She had kind of known the entire time, and that's one of the reasons that she came here in the first place. Grabbing her cookies, she slipped into one of the patient rooms.

Ranma lay on one of the beds, his back facing her. His breath rose and fell in the steady rhythm of sleep. Akane sighed, walking around to the bed so she could see his face.

What surprised her most was not the dark circles under his eyes but the bruise on his cheek, like an ugly flower that grew where you didn't want it to. Unthinkingly, Akane reached out her hand and brushed her hand against the mark.

Ranma's eyes flew open, startling both of them. Ranma sat up slowly, blue eyes calculating. Akane could almost feel the inner workings of his mind turning. Should he run and not risk getting dragged back home, or should he stay there and get answers?

"I'm not going to take you home if you don't want me to," Akane stated, and Ranma relaxed a little.

"Great. So, uh… what's up?" Akane knew that that question really meant "what's going on?"

"Not much," Akane said sarcastically, "except for the fact that I'm trying to untangle the huge mess that your other fiancées and my sister have managed to drag everyone into." Ranma made an indignant noise.

"Hey, it's not like I _asked _them to be my fiancées-" Akane held her hand up, cutting him off.

"You don't have to get defensive. I'm done with being jealous like a good little future wife. I know who you have chosen, and I'm not going to complain about it. At this point I'm past caring." Ranma's brow furrowed. She _knew _who he's chosen? That did not sound good…

"Do you want me to explain the situation or not?" Ranma nodded. "Well, then just listen. It all started Sunday, when you and I went on our little date. While we were trying to kill each other, Nabiki was heading off to the Cat Café upon Shampoo and Cologne's request. When she got there, she showed them a stack of photos." Ranma paled slightly at the mention of the pictures. Akane ignored him and continued talking. "When Nabiki got home, she then proceeded to sell the pictures to you.

"The next day, while we were at school, Shampoo, Ukyo, and Kodachi found Ryoga and beat him out of pure spite. Then, one of the three sent a text message stating that you were in love with another man." Akane paused here, judging Ranma's reaction. He seemed uncertain, like he was confused by the whole thing. Then again, Akane didn't have the best grasp on the situation either. "The next part is kind of… confusing. After you ran away, Dr. Tofu got a call from a hospital. They were asking about Ryoga, because he didn't have any form of ID on him and they thought Dr. Tofu might know who he was, so we went over to the hospital. After we were done with our visit, we figured out the situation from just putting the pieces together. I went home, and I… searched your room. I was confirming… and I found the pictures." Ranma inhaled sharply, and Akane immediately felt bad. Maybe she shouldn't have told him… "In the morning, I asked my father if I could stay home, and he said yes. I really don't feel like going to school now… I just… I don't feel… like myself. I feel like… this is all a dream."

Ranma grimaced. He had hoped it would never come to this. How was he supposed to tell his six-month fiancée that he wanted to marry her as badly as Mousse did? Clearing his throat, he began, "Akane, listen, I-" she waved him silent again, but Ranma wouldn't have it. "Akane, I really tried to forget Ryoga, I really did, but I just can't. I should've just married you after we went to Jusenkyo that last time." Akane shuddered at the memory. That was one trip she would prefer to forget. "It's just… arranged marriages never work. History should've taught us that much. There's no way I could make myself fall in love. You must know what I mean." Akane was silent. Her eyes were determinedly downcast, and her hands fiddled uncomfortably in her lap.

_Is she thinking about that time? _Ranma wondered, watching her eyes flit nervously from him to the ground. The one time Ranma had almost managed to do it, the one time Ranma had almost managed to force himself to say _'I love you'. _If he had done it, if he had succeeded, maybe, just maybe, Akane and he would be husband and wife. Maybe Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi would have given up, and maybe Ryoga would never have gotten hurt. And Ranma would be miserable…

"I suppose so," Akane finally said, "I guess I know how that feels. Though, near the end there, I wouldn't have minded so much. But I guess it _was _foolish to try and marry while we're still in high school…" Ranma nodded eagerly. As long as Akane wasn't mad, he was relieved.

Ranma took a deep breath. What he was going to ask for next was a big test of Akane's willingness. "Akane?"

"Hm?"

"Um… when I ran away from home, I went to Dr. Tofu's clinic… here. So when Dr. Tofu got the call… I was there, and I heard about Ryoga." Akane frowned. Where was this going? "So I went over to Tokai as fast as I could… Ryoga was there, and he was awake. We talked, and then I left… to get him something. But when I returned, he wasn't there. He was going through therapy. So I hid in the ventilation… and I waited. When Ryoga was transported back, I left my gift for him on the desk, and then I tried to leave through the window. But the window had been locked automatically or something, and I couldn't get out. So I… slept in Ryoga's bed, and when he woke up…"

"Wait, don't tell me," Akane said, blushing slightly, "I can guess what happened next. I don't need details…" It took Ranma a moment to figure out what she meant.

"Gah! W-we didn't do anything like _that! _Get your mind out of the gutter!" Ranma yelped, face burning bright red. Akane quickly followed suit as she realized her mistake.

"Jeez, I'm sorry! I just thought you meant like that because you were putting so much stress on how you two slept together, okay? And when we were engaged, you kept trying to sneak into my bedroom, so excuse me for thinking you're kinky!"

"The only reason I did that was to get P-chan out of your room!"

"What do you have against him anyways?"

Ranma bit his lip. In the beginning, he chased Ryoga off because he didn't want his fiancée to be sleeping with some pervert in disguise. Lately, it had been the other way around. "It's… complicated." He finally said. "Anyways, don't you want to hear the rest of the story?" Akane crossed her arms but said nothing, so Ranma took that as a yes.

"Right. Anyways, after he woke up, we talked for a while, and then he crawled back into bed and fell asleep."

"He was willing to sleep with you?" Akane gasped. Ranma glared at her, and she fell silent.

"Then I woke up, and I realized Ryoga was having a nightmare, so I, uh, hugged him, but when he woke up, he was really mad at me. He kept saying that he was fine and that he was used to dealing with these by himself. I think he was afraid I would make fun of him. But he wouldn't calm down at all, so I, uh, kind of… kissed him…"

"YOU WHAT?" shrieked Akane, making Ranma wince, "Oh my god Ranma, I can't believe you! You actually thought that would help? You're so stupid! You probably just scared the wits out of him! Remember when you were kissed forcefully? You hated it!"

"I know! I know! I wasn't thinking… Ryoga got angry and gave me this," Ranma said, pointing to the bruise on his cheek, "And after that, he tried to punch me but I ducked, and he punched through the window… and then he told me to leave… Oh god, Akane, he hates me so much it hurts. He… he thinks I'm using him… he thinks I want to control him and have him be my plaything…" Ranma sighed, unaware of Akane's nosebleed.

"That's only to be expected," Akane said, hastily wiping off the blood, "but I think that you can be at least friends again. You just have to do something for him that will make him forgive you. Knowing Ryoga, it will have to be pretty grandiose."

"I could help him find a girlfriend, maybe," Ranma said, thoughtfully twirling his pigtail between his index and middle finger. Akane snorted.

"Good luck with that. Remember _last _time you tried to find a girlfriend for Ryoga? Akari ran off crying while Happosai chased her across Japan. I still think he's going after her." Ranma sighed, shuddering at the memory.

"I would say I wish he'd never come back, but even someone as annoying as Akari doesn't deserve to have that freak chasing after them." He murmured.

"I suppose. And besides, there's no reason for you to cause yourself unnecessary grief. You don't have to force yourself out of love. In fact, it's unhealthy." Ranma sighed and shrugged but didn't argue.

"I guess I will just have to grab an opportunity when it arises." Ranma said, folding his arms.

"Exactly. Oh, and I know I promised that I wouldn't do this, but will you come home?"

**Author's Notes: Yay! I finally got a chapter done! I'm sorry it's so late, but oh well…**

**Pervy**** Akane is ****pervy****.**

**I finally explained the mysterious disappearance of Akari and Happosai! :D I'm so proud of myself for thinking of that one…**

**I need answers! If you are reading this fanfiction and you enjoy it, please, **_**please **_**just take a few moments to answer these questions! I really need your opinions…**

**1) Should I make this fanfiction rated M? There will be no lemons, but there will be "suggestions" of past events and kind of limey stuff.**

**2) Should the girls (including Akane) find "special people", or should they stay single? And if they should be paired, who with? OCs are fine.**

**3) Should Happosai appear at all in this story? Or should he stay out of it completely?**

**4) If you have any suggestions, please tell me! If I like it, I will be sure to incorporate it into the story!**

**You don't have to answer all of these, even one or two would be nice…**

**Thank you!**


	10. Daggers

**So, I'm going to try things a little differently this time! Firstly, I am going to put warnings at the top stating any "inappropriate content" that might offend people. I will also put a disclaimer, and anything that I think I need to tell you guys about (like this paragraph).**

**I am also holding out on making this fanfiction rated M. Like I said, I don't write lemons, but things get pretty limey and there are "suggestions" of events, both past and present. I would like as many opinions as possible, please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any of its characters!**

**Warnings: Attempted rape, swearing, homophobia**

_Sneg Ulitse, Khabarovsk, Russia_

"_Stupid, stupid Ranma!" hissed Ryoga, kicking a snowdrift violently as he passed it. The cold air swirled around his frame, making him shiver violently and curse his stupidity. How could he have lost his jacket? It was the middle of winter, and northern Japan could get startlingly cold._

_At least, Ryoga hoped it was northern Japan, but with his luck, it was probably someplace halfway around the globe. It wouldn't be the first time something like this had happened._

_Suddenly a back door opened, spilling a yellow glow into the snowy night. A hand pushed several drunken men out the room, and then quickly shut the entrance. Ryoga stiffened. He could tell these men were trouble. They were large, buff men, laughing like idiots and stumbling around. He began to back away, almost slipping on a pile of snow. One of the men looked up._

"_Посмотрите, есть ребенок!" The man laughed, pointing a finger at Ryoga. The others looked up, and seeing Ryoga, began to laugh even harder. Somewhere in his mind, Ryoga registered that they were speaking Russian. That could mean that he was very far from home, or quite close._

"_Он такой крошечный! Как вы думаете, что он китайский?" asked the biggest one of them all. The others shrugged, and one of them grabbed Ryoga by the collar and examined him. Ryoga could smell the vodka on his breath._

"_Довольно мило, для мальчика." He stated. By now, Ryoga was thoroughly spooked. The last place he wanted to be right now was right here. Tugging away from the man, he turned and began to quickly walk away. He didn't run, lest they decided that it would be a great game for them to chase him._

"_Иди сюда, мальчик, ты не хочешь играть с взрослыми?" A man called after him, and the rest laughed. Ryoga ignored them, picking up his pace. Suddenly, a thick arm wrapped around him, choking him slightly._

"_Let go!" Ryoga screamed, kicking the man awkwardly on the shins. Although the man couldn't understand, he no doubt got the general message._

"_Если вы не хотите играть, то я боюсь, что мы собираемся сделать вам." The man growled, moving his free arm down Ryoga's torso. When he reached Ryoga's beltline, he began to tug harshly._

_Ryoga heard himself scream as he hurled the man over his shoulder. His mind had gone completely blank, and he could barely register the punches and kicks he delivered to the drunken men. They staggered back, one of them screaming something over and over again. Ryoga almost laughed at the men as they scrambled away, fear in their eyes. Instead, he fell to his knees and retched, over and over again. _

'They touched me,' _he finally thought, _'oh my god, they tried… tried to…'

_Furinkan High School, Nerima, Tokyo_

The sky was a crystalline blue, fluffy white clouds dancing across its surface as though in a stereotypical wallpaper of a child's room. Ranma stood admiring the picturesque moment. Why had he never noticed the beauty of the sky before?

"… Hello? Earth to Ranma?" A voice snapped him out of his doze, and he glanced over to his ex-fiancée, who was looking a little put off by his failure to pay attention to her.

"Uh… right. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you were feeling okay. We can wait a while to come back…" Ranma shook his head vigorously. It had already been more than a week since that fateful bargain in the Cat Café, and Ranma didn't want to be seen as more odd than he already was. Besides, if he fell back into habit, he may not think about Ryoga punching him so much. Maybe.

"I'm fine. I just want to get this mess over with…" Akane nodded. That would be a relief for everyone. "Hey, I've been thinking, and maybe I should talk to Ukyo, you know." Akane almost snapped at him, before she remembered she didn't need to be jealous anymore.

"Right. If we could get conformation, then that would be great."

Ranma glanced around, scanning the lawn for any signs of the spatula-wielding girl. There were a few glances his way, some curious, some menacing, but no Ukyo. "Huh… have you seen her?"

"No. She's probably too busy beating up Shampoo and Kodachi for competition over you know that Ryoga's out of the picture."

Ranma whirled around, gripping Akane's shoulders. "What do you mean, out of the picture? What happened! Are you not telling me something?"

"Calm down! I just meant that he's not in town anymore, or if he is, he isn't in our area." Akane yelped, pushing the crazed boy off her. If they hadn't been getting weird looks before, they certainly were now.

Ranma seemed embarrassed by his outburst. "Er… right." He muttered, "Anyways, if she doesn't show up, I'll probably make a stop-"

"RANMA SAOTOME!" Screamed an all-too familiar voice from behind them. Ranma whipped around, prepared to fend off an attack from the Kendo master. What he was not prepared for was Kuno dropping on his knees, sobbing violently.

"Whoa, dude, calm down!" Ranma yelled, waving his arms around like a demented monkey. Akane thought that the movements were not helping the situation, but she didn't comment. "What's up? Got your ass kicked or whatever?"

"Oh, Ranma Saotome, I never knew how noble you were!" cried Kuno. Ranma did a comical double-take in surprise. Kuno was calling _him _noble? "You pursuit true love despite it being forbidden! I am truly inspired by your bravery!"

Ranma's eyes widened and he slapped a hand over Kuno's mouth. "Okay man, it's great that you admire me and shit, but can you have your mental breakdown somewhere else? People are starting to stare, and not at you." It was true. Despite the upperclassmen's antics, it was not Kuno people were interested in.

Kuno nodded, getting to his feet. "Ranma Saotome, if you ever require my assistance, I shall ever be at your service." With that, Kuno dramatically turned and ran off.

"What the hell was that about?" Ranma muttered, "'if I ever require his assistance?' Assistance with _what?" _Akane was silent. Though Kuno wasn't the sharpest katana in the arsenal, even he had managed to discern the truth in the text. No doubt every student, teacher and alumni knew the truth about Ranma's sexuality. Most probably wouldn't care, but there were always the homophobes, the haters, the hapless victims forced to play along or get hurt. Ranma no doubt knew this too, and was putting on a brave face for the cameras. Figuratively, of course.

"Never mind that, we should get to class before the principal decides that today is a great day for a haircut." Ranma nodded in agreement, and the slipped into the building just as the bell rang.

_Homeroom 1-F, Furinkan High school, Nerima, Tokyo_

The scrap of white paper slid into Ranma's field of vision as he pointlessly checked over his answers. They were all right, curtsey of a few extra yen to Nabiki when Ranma's weekly payment came up. Of course, it was a bit pointless now that everyone and their dog knew about Ranma's crush, but it never hurt to keep the ice queen happy.

Leaning down as if tying his shoelace (even though he was wearing Chinese shoes without laces), Ranma nonchalantly picked up the piece of paper and glanced around. Everyone was going over their math answers before they turned them into the teacher. No one gave him a sly look or a wink, or even a menacing glare. Ranma sat back up again, slipping the paper into his binder and opening it.

Ranma couldn't say he was surprised to see the words "How's the boyfriend, fag?" carefully printed so that the handwriting couldn't be easily identified. Angry, but not surprised. Crumpling the white paper in his fist, Ranma tossed the note in the trash can that was at least ten feet away. There were a few 'oohs', but they were quickly staunched by the atmosphere as Ranma's anger began to seep into the air, just to let whoever wrote that know that if he caught them, there would be hell to pay.

_Tour bus, outside of Kyoto, Japan_

Nodoka sighed, stretching her legs as she walked around the wooded area that was where the bus had broken down. Her samurai sword was, as always, tied to her waist, but she seemed to be getting more than a few stares for something she had begun to consider normal.

Most of the stares were emanating from a noisy American couple. The two children were especially curious. One of them, the younger boy, walked up and asked her something (Nodoka had no idea what, not being able to speak English), pointing to the sword. Nodoka didn't really mind. They reminded her of the times when she had lived with Genma and baby Ranma. That seemed so long ago…

"Mrs. Saotome?" Kasumi called, walking over.

"Yes?"

"Well, I was sitting by your bag, and I couldn't help but notice that there was a buzzing noise coming from inside one of the pockets. So I glanced in there, and I realized that there was a phone! I thought I'd bring it to you." Kasumi handed Nodoka her bag, smiling cheerfully.

Nodoka flipped open one of the pockets, and pulled out the glittery cellphone inside. The phone wasn't hers, but a friend had loaned it to her just in case an emergency came up and they needed to phone home. Who could have called her? Flipping open the phone, Nodoka was surprised to see a text.

She began to scroll through the list of forwards. Normally, she wouldn't even consider reading another person's text, but this didn't seem like it was directed anyone in particular. No doubt Nodoka herself would've gotten it if she had owned a phone.

Finally reaching the bottom of the text, Nodoka began to read.

_Hallway, Furinkan High School, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Ranma!"

The boy in question did not glance away from his locker. No point, really. He'd just get another glare, or someone mouthing "gay", or "fag" or some other incredibly creative insult. Normally, Ranma would just beat anyone who dared insult him, but normally the only ones who were brave enough to insult him were strong martial artists. If he attacked a fellow classmate, he could hurt or even kill someone.

"Ranma!" A hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking around, Ranma was surprised to see Hiroshi standing at his side, with Daisuke close behind him. "Jeez, Ranma, why didn't you turn around? It's not like you to ignore us."

Ranma was suddenly filled with an appreciation for his friends. Among all this chaos, Hiroshi seemed to act like nothing was wrong. Daisuke, too.

"I'm so glad to see you guys, but we should talk after school, okay? I'm already enough of a freak without spilling my guts in the hallway," Ranma whispered, patting them on their backs. They gave each other a glance, before nodding and turning away. Ranma returned to the task of taking out the right books for science. Finally, something to look forward to.

_Soccer field, Furinkan High School, Nerima, Tokyo_

Ranma paced back and forth on one of the bleacher rows, his brow a thunderhead of moody concentration. Watching him was Akane, Hiroshi, Daisuke, and, for some strange reason, Kuno. Ranma figured that he could ask Akane about the Kendo master later.

"Well, okay, I don't know if you guys are expecting some big speech or whatever, but I don't have one, so you're just gonna have to bear with me, 'kay? Basically, the rumors are true; I'm in love with another guy, which makes my life shit, blah blah blah. I don't need you to stand by me or whatever, but if you do, you're probably going to get almost as much as hate as I'm getting, so I don't need you guys complaining about that." Ranma paused, glancing at his audience. Akane seemed slightly exasperated at his choice of language, but otherwise there were no complaints.

"Okay. Now, there's this epic story behind what happened and why the text was sent out, but I'm not in the mood for explaining. If you're really dying to know, ask Akane. She seems to know more about it than me, anyways." Ranma glanced back again. This time, Hiroshi was raising a hand, like he was back in class. Slightly thrown by this, Ranma nevertheless asked "Er, yes, Hiroshi?"

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, who are you in love with?" Ranma frowned. He did mind Hiroshi asking.

"Does that really matter?" Ranma snapped, "This isn't some tabloid news, okay? Besides, I don't want to drag him into this." Kuno stood, an expression of outrage on his face.

"I object, Saotome! How are we to help you on your quest for true love if you do not tell us who the object of your affection is?" Ranma froze, looking at Kuno with an expression of incredulity on his face.

"'Quest for true love'?" Ranma gaped, "What the hell are you talking about, dude? What quest for true love?" He glanced around at the rest of the crowd, but they seemed equally mystified. Was this just one of Kuno's stupid shenanigans?

"Well, we must get you into a relationship with your lover, of course!" Ranma sighed at this statement. Kuno's real motivation was obvious. He just was glad Ranma was out of the way so he could claim Akane and the "pig-tailed girl" for his own. If Ranma was actually in a relationship with another person, then it just strengthened that reassurance that he wouldn't go back to Akane/pig-tailed girl.

"Kuno, even if it were your business, which it isn't, I still wouldn't share that personal information with you! God, you're so pushy. The only reason I'm having this 'meeting' or whatever is to tell you guys that I don't need you backing me up and getting hurt!" Ranma huffed, crossing his arms. His expression clearly showed that he thought this conversation was over. Unfortunately for him, no one else thought so.

"It's Ryoga, isn't it?" Daisuke blurted suddenly. "I mean, even though you're rivals and whatever, you guys have such a _bromance._ I mean, come on! After that shi-shi hokkodan battle, you were practically pining over him! I thought you two were going to start making out or some… thing…" he trailed off, suddenly aware of the daggers Ranma was glaring at him.*

"So it's the Hibiki boy!" Kuno cried, jumping atop the bleachers and waving around his "sword" like it was a leek glow stick at a Hatsune Miku concert, "Excellent! All we need to do is find him and convince him of his love!"

"Good luck with that," Akane snorted, "he ran away after Ranma kissed him. He's probably in Hokkaido by now."

"Ooh, you kissed him?" Hiroshi cried delightedly, clapping his hands together. "How'd it go? How far did you get? Did he seem like he ran away because he liked it?"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Ranma yelled, covering his hands with his ears. "Holy crap, you people, can't a guy just explain himself without you all nit-picking like reporters?" he flopped down on the bleachers, groaning.

"I think it's time we should all go home," Akane said, and everyone immediately, fervently agreed.

**Author's Notes:** ***That sentence was awful. Be happy that I left it in for your amusement.**

**Forgive this poor soul for being awful at updating.**

**Again, I'd love it if you would answer the questions from the previous chapter, especially question 2. I have decided to at least make Akane be with someone, but I haven't decided who. **

**HIROSHI IS A YAOI FANBOY~ 3**


	11. Plan

**:) Hey guys! I haven't uploaded in like **_**forever, **_**but my computer broke. Blaargh.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or its characters~ **

**Warnings: Kidnapping (does that need a warning?), drugging, swearing,**

_Basement, Cat Café, Nerima, Tokyo_

Even in the dim light, the tiny vial filled with crystal green liquid seemed to glow with unnatural power. _Then again_, Ukyo mused as she descended into the gloom of the Cat Café's basement, _my fiancée is half girl. What _is _natural about my life?_

Not anything that had happened in the past week. That was for sure.

Fumbling around the air in front of her for a moment, Ukyo finally found the string that led to the light bulb. Tugging on it, the room was lit by the dangerously flickering light. In the corner of the sparse room, Ryoga snoozed away in a metal chair, occasionally twitching or muttering in his sleep. His hands and feet were bound to the seat in what must be an uncomfortable position. When he woke up, he would be sorer than an old man.

If he woke up, that is.

Ukyo sighed, crossing over to the lost boy and popped open the vial's clasp. She took a moment to study his features. Even in sleep, he seemed depressed, as though his dreams were just as bad as his waking life. Actually, they were probably worse.

Ukyo grabbed his chin, forcing his jaw open, then poured the liquid down his throat. Ryoga convulsed, as though he knew what was in the vial and was trying to fight against it. Then he grew still, still shivering. Ukyo felt bad. It wasn't that she liked Ryoga, but he seemed a hapless innocent caught up in all of this.

"Can you believe they think you poisoned Ranma?" Ukyo whispered, careful to be quiet in the unlikely case that the others in the restaurant heard her talking over their own yelling. "They are so deluded. Cologne knows this too. She knows Shampoo is a fool. That's why she's letting you snooze away in her basement instead of giving you something to make you stop 'loving' Ranma. You are a just an unlucky jackass, aren't you? Ranma's just pulling you into the thick of things like usual." Ukyo paused in her rant. Ryoga's brow was furrowed, as though he knew what Ukyo was saying and agreed with it. "Ranma really is a moron. I have no idea why I love him. If you knew what was good for you, you'd run away as fast as your lousy sense of direction would allow you. But you don't know what's good for you. You're asleep."

"Ukyo!" called a voice, making her jump. "The old hag wants you up here. How long does it take to give a guy some sleeping potion, anyways?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Ukyo muttered, then added under her breath "Stupid jackass Mousse." Pulling away from Ryoga, Ukyo gave him one last glance as she pulled on the light bulb string and ascended the steps to the kitchen.

_Ukyo's Okonomiyaki Shop, Nerima, Tokyo_

"It's good to see you again, Miss Akane, Ranma," Konatsu said cheerfully, nodding as the pair stepped into the shop. A few customers glanced up, their eyes lingering on Ranma as he and Akane sat down.

"Yo," Ranma returned, "Hey, dude, uh, have you seen Ukyo?" Konatsu frowned at this, his brown creasing with worry.

"Miss Ukyo hasn't returned from the Cat Café in quite a while. Why do you seek her? Are… are…" Konatsu bit his lip. He wanted to ask Ranma about the rumors that he had heard from particularly chatty customers, but he was afraid to in front of all these people. He supposed he could ask Miss Ukyo when she returned. She seemed to know quite a bit about it.

Ranma seemed to catch his drift, and stood up quickly. Akane followed suit, scowling at the thought of heading to the ramen restaurant. "I'm not in the mood, 'kay? Maybe later." Konatsu knew that that really meant never.

"C-come back any time!" He called as the pair left, no doubt to go to the Cat Café to see Miss Ukyo. Though Ranma hadn't told him anything, Konatsu had the feeling that the reason they wanted to see her was related to the rumors. Though he fervently hoped that Miss Ukyo wasn't involved, he knew better. Quite honestly, he could understand her motivation, if not her actions. Konatsu didn't think he would react quite so violently if he heard a rumor that Miss Ukyo loved a girl. After all, he had once believed that he was part of the female gender, and sometimes, he felt as though he were a female trapped in a boy's body. Ranma was so lucky, to have a "curse" that allowed him such freedom, physically and mentally.

Konatsu wondered why people thought he was "gay" when he was half-male, half-female. No wonder he was so confused…

_Kuno Mansion, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Why are we here again?"

Akane could not help but think that was a very excellent question as she sipped her tea quietly. Around her sat Kuno, Ranma, Hiroshi and Daisuke. It was becoming apparent that this was to be their usual meeting group, though why they needed one was a bit lost on Akane. True, bullying and humiliation is a horrible thing to experience, but that doesn't mean that they needed to make a therapist group out of it.

"We are here, Saotome, because we must go over our battle plans once more!" Kuno cried. Everyone groaned at this, Ranma's groan being the loudest and most exaggerated of the bunch.

"Kuno, please. There is no 'battle plan,' it's just a way of ignoring everyone at school! We discussed this at our first 'meeting' or whatever you want to call it. There was no reason to drag everyone away from what they were doing just so we could appease your need for a round table."* Akane sighed exasperatedly, "and besides, Ranma and I were already doing something very important." This caught everyone's attention.

"Really? What were you doing?" Daisuke asked eagerly.

"Well, we were walking over to the Cat Café, looking for Ukyo. Originally, we had gone to Ukyo's okonomiyaki shop, but she wasn't there. We asked Konatsu, and he said that she had been at the Cat Café. We were going to ask her for conformation about our theory on Ryoga. I mean, the evidence is overwhelming, but a confession never hurts."

"Why Ukyo? Why not the other girls?"

"Well, Ukyo's pretty much the most reasonable of the other fiancées – no offense, Kuno." Akane added quickly. He didn't respond – at least not verbally. He just nodded, his brow furrowed.

"Uh… right. Well, anyways, that's what we were doing. Perhaps not the most important of 'missions', but certainly worth the effort."

"It's amazing, isn't it?" Hiroshi blurted out. Everyone turned to look at him. "The fact that we're working together, I mean. Most of the time, Ranma would just bolt off like a heathen to whatever battle he had planned next, and Akane would come running after. And then you have Kuno, always trying to outdo Ranma, and Daisuke and I never even got to see most of the action. Then Akane would always try to make herself a good fiancée for Ranma by trying to learn how to cook and clean and sew, even though her true talent lay elsewhere. Maybe it's this new kind of crisis that's brought us together. I mean, even with everything that's been happening, it's still more, well, peaceful, than I've ever seen it."

There was a long silence following this. Finally, Ranma spoke up.

"I dunno, it's not that different, really. I just feel more… open? Like it's okay to just do my thing." Suddenly he froze, an expression of complete terror on his face. "Oh, _shit! _My _mom! _She's supposed to come home real soon! Oh my god, what am I supposed to do?! I'm gonna have to commit ritual fucking seppuku if she hears these rumors!"

"Ranma, calm down!" Akane yelled, smacking him on the arm, "Kasumi has been talking to Mrs. Saotome lately, and I think she's getting over it! You're more precious to her than any stupid vow of manhood that Mr. Saotome made you make. Ranma, she isn't going to make you kill yourself. Probably. Hopefully."

"Gee, that really raised my confidence." Ranma snapped, dropping his head into his hands. "It doesn't matter if I make it up to Ryoga anymore, because I'll be _dead."_

"Oh, Ranma, don't be so melodramatic!" Hiroshi sighed, "You've told us the story about the contract you signed when you were a little kid and all of that, but Akane's right. If I were a mother, I certainly wouldn't have my son spilling his guts – literally – because a there are a few rumors flying around."

"A _few _rumors? Hiroshi, I've heard what some people are saying about me. I don't know how that one text grew into what they were saying, but it did, somehow." Ranma shuddered as he said this, his eyes growing wide at the very thought of it. "I always knew that gossip was poisonous stuff, but I had no idea that it could escalate like that… believe me, if my mom was even halfway convinced that one of those… _atrocities_… was true, I'd be dead before you could say 'not true'."

Akane bit her lip nervously. "Well, we'll just have to convince her that they're lies then, wont we? Who's she going to believe – her own son or some kids with a grudge against you?"

Ranma nodded, as did everyone else. "Yeah, I guess so… uh, shouldn't we be getting to the Cat Café? You know, to ask Ukyo?" He was obviously desperate to change the subject.

"Yes! Yeah, that's a good idea!" Akane responded, quickly standing and almost upturning her teacup on the expensive rug (she had forgotten it was there when Ranma started talking about his mom.)

"Wait, you don't think you're going without us?!" Daisuke cried, scrambling to his feet and motioning for Hiroshi to do the same.

"With all we've been through together? Well, it's not that much, but still…" Hiroshi quickly followed suit. Akane bit her lip. She didn't like it – what if they got attacked? – but there was no good reason to leave them behind either.

"Fine," she muttered, "but, please, no arguments. The last thing we need is an angry Kodachi on our hands."

_Cat Café, Nerima, Tokyo_

"What's up?" Ukyo asked cautiously as she stepped back up into the bright kitchen. Mousse was waiting for her, his arms crossed.

"Don't ask me. I'm not the one who called for you. Besides, who knows what goes through the mind of that woman." Mousse shrugged. "Anyways, she's in the side room**. Just ignore those two. I'm sure they won't even notice you walking by." As Mousse said "those two", he jerked his head in the direction of the dining area, where Shampoo and Kodachi were having an all-out brawl. The tables and chairs were moved aside quite conveniently, so that they could fight without obstacles. It was lucky that the café had been closed for a while now – if it hadn't, the poor customers might've gotten killed.

"Err… okay. Are you sure she didn't say anything about why she wanted me? Nothing at all?" Ukyo ventured cautiously.

"If she did, I would've already told you about it." Mousse grumbled, apparently irritated by all the secrets surrounding the mess. Everyone knew better than to let much slip around Mousse. He would love nothing more for Ranma to run off with the pig-boy, so he could claim Shampoo for his own. Ukyo pondered upon this as she walked slowly towards the side room.

"Come in," called the voice of the old hag, even before Ukyo had time to knock. Feeling nervous, she pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The walls were painted a pale shade of green and Chinese artifacts and weapons were displayed as though it were a grand museum instead of a dingy room in the back of a restaurant. Cologne was sitting in an uncomfortable-looking wooden chair, her staff leaning against the back.

"Sit." The old woman commanded. Looking around for another chair, Ukyo saw none and compromised by plopping on the floor, crossing her legs. "How are you? Well?" Cologne asked.

"… Fine, thank you." Ukyo said cautiously, raising her eyebrows.

"You're probably wondering why I summoned you here, aren't you?" Ukyo didn't answer. Her silence was enough.

"Well, we've been drugging Ryoga for quite a while now, haven't we? It seems a bit pointless to do it any longer." Cologne paused for effect. "I've been telling Shampoo that I can't find my 'anti-love potion' recipie, and that I need to properly search for it. In fact, I have such a recipie hidden under the sink. If I wanted to, I could whip up a batch in a few hours. But I think you know why I haven't done it, don't you?"

"… Yes, I do know why you haven't done it. What are you suggesting that we do instead?"

"Well, I'll leave that to you, young'un. You seem to be the most level-headed one here. I trust your judgment… just don't do anything completely stupid, you understand? Tread carefully here. Sometimes gentleness is more effective than strength." With those words, Cologne grabbed her staff and left the room before Ukyo could even mutter a "yes, ma'am".

_She trusts my judgment? What is _that _supposed to mean? What am I supposed to do? Kill him? It would solve quite a bit… _Ukyo glared at the ground, cursing herself for falling in love with a gay guy. Why was it always the hot ones?

"RANMA! Shampoo so glad you here!"

"Ranma-darling, here I am! Don't be fooled by that evil temptress!"

Ukyo groaned, pressing her face into her hands. Wonderful. This was exactly what she needed. Ranma coming and messing up her judgment. Not to mention the squealing that was sure to ensue from Shampoo and Kodachi.

"Hey, guys…"

"What? Why is Akane here? That evil girl! Muahaha! I shall crush her with all my might, Ranma-darling!"

"Aiya! Shampoo crush Akane first!"

"Oh hell no!" Wham.

Yep. Exactly what she needed.

_Cat Café, Nerima, Tokyo_

"Sorry about the shabbiness..." Ukyo muttered, sitting back on the floor and rubbing the newly-formed bruise on top of her head. "This is the safest room to be in, though, considering that the old had threatened to personally behead anyone who stepped in this room while I was in here. Pretty nice for her actually."

Akane didn't respond. She was too busy examining the weapons. Some were so old, they seemed that they would turn to dust if you looked at them too hard. Others were inscribed with evil-looking symbols that were best left untranslated. Still others were made of solid gold and studded with jewels.

"It's alright." She finally said after a few moments of silence. "I'm a Tendo. I'm used to shabbiness. What… did you want to talk about?" Ukyo looked down at the floor, sighing softly. How would she say this?

"It's… about Ryoga. See… Shampoo thinks that Ryoga… has poisoned Ranma, given him a potion to make Ranma love him." Akane began to splutter, but Ukyo shushed her with a wave of her hand. "I know, I know. So Shampoo... Well, remember that news report? The patient that escaped from the hospital? Well, that was Ryoga.

"He was walking around, and I came up to him, disguised as a police officer. I grabbed his arm, and as I did, I punctured him with a small needle, laced with a drug. Nothing lethal, I promise. It just made him woozy and weak, and eventually knocked him out. I then pushed him into the back of my 'police car', took him to the Cat Café, and tied him up in the basement. Ever since, I've been giving him sleeping potions so he doesn't wake. I didn't really want to do this, but Shampoo insisted, because I'm the best at disguising myself."

Akane looked horrified. "You… kidnapped him? Is he still in the basement?" Ukyo nodded, and Akane began to stand. "I have to get him out! What if Shampoo or Kodachi decided to hurt him? He wouldn't be able to defend himself!"

"Wait!" Ukyo cried, "Please, wait. We are going to rescue him, but we can't do it now!" Akane glared at her for a few moments, and then sat back down.

"Okay. Yeah, okay, I get what you're saying. When are we going to get him out, then, and what are we going to do with him? Where would we put him?"

Ukyo considered for a moment. She had to be careful about what she said – otherwise, there would be no help coming from Akane. More like a vicious beating. "Well… he can't stay in Nerima, or even Tokyo. He has to be transported somewhere safer, where he can get nice and lost without having to worry about Shampoo or Kodachi trying to kill him in his sleep. I was thinking we could dump him out in the forest, a little ways away from Tokyo. Obviously, we can't go as far on foot, but with our abilities, we can travel a long way."

"And what's in it for you?" Akane asked suspiciously.

Ukyo shrugged. "Well, Ryoga's out of the way, so I don't have to worry about him as a competitor. Also, if Ryoga isn't around for a while, all these awful rumors might die down a bit, y'know? I don't like seeing my Ranma so hurt."

Akane considered for a moment. If she had had a beard, she would've stroked it. "Deal," she said, sticking out her hand.

**Author's Notes: AAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHH HHHHH I AM SO SORRY, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME**


End file.
